Shear wave elastography of the liver - review on normal values.

Shear wave elastography (SWE) has been developed to non-invasively estimate liver stiffness. Different techniques are available and they are described in detail in the EFSUMB guidelines on elastography. However, there are only a few published studies investigating normal ranges in healthy subjects by comparing different equipment and analysing influencing factors.

Ultrasound-guided central vascular interventions, comments on the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology guidelines on interventional ultrasound.

Central venous access has traditionally been performed on the basis of designated anatomical landmarks. However, due to patients' individual anatomy and vessel pathology and depending on individual operators' skill, this landmark approach is associated with a significant failure rate and complication risk. There is substantial evidence demonstrating significant improvement in effectiveness and safety of vascular access by realtime ultrasound (US)-guidance, as compared to the anatomical landmark-guided approach.

A prospective study of the value of pre- and post-treatment magnetic resonance imaging examinations for advanced cervical cancer.

Background And Aim: Cervical cancer has high incidence and mortality in developing countries. It is the only gynecological malignancy that is clinically staged. Staging at the time of diagnosis is crucial for treatment planning.

Clinical value of imaging for lymph nodes evaluation with particular emphasis on ultrasonography.

Enlarged or irregular lymph nodes (LNs) are clinical and imaging findings in a large variety of malignant and non-malignant diseases. A comprehensive diagnostic work up is usually necessary in order to differentiate the benign or the malignant nature of the altered LNs. The diagnosis has to be made using all clinical information and, if necessary, assessed LNs need to be biopsied and further, histologically or microbiologically characterized.

Point of Care Ultrasound: A WFUMB Position Paper.

Over the last decade, the use of portable ultrasound scanners has enhanced the concept of point of care ultrasound (PoC-US), namely, "ultrasound performed at the bedside and interpreted directly by the treating clinician." PoC-US is not a replacement for comprehensive ultrasound, but rather allows physicians immediate access to clinical imaging for rapid and direct solutions. PoC-US has already revolutionized everyday clinical practice, and it is believed that it will dramatically change how ultrasound is applied in daily practice.

Advantages and Limitations of Focal Liver Lesion Assessment with Ultrasound Contrast Agents: Comments on the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) Guidelines.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) represents a significant breakthrough in sonography. Due to US contrast agents (UCAs) and contrast-specific techniques, sonography offers the potential to show enhancement of liver lesions in a similar way as contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging techniques. The real-time assessment of liver perfusion throughout the vascular phases, without any risk of nephrotoxicity, represents one of the major advantages that this technique offers.

US-guided peripheral vascular interventions, comments on the EFSUMB guidelines.

Peripheral venous as well as arterial punctures have traditionally been performed on the basis of designated anatomical landmarks. However, due to patients' individual anatomy and vessel pathology and depending on individual operators' skill, this landmark approach is associated with a significant failure rate and complication risk. This review comments on the evidence-based recommendations on ultrasound (US)-guided vascular access which have been published recently within the framework of Guidelines on Interventional Ultrasound (INVUS) of the European Federation of Societies for US in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) from a clinical practice point of view.

Multimodal endocavitary ultrasound versus MRI and clinical findings in pre- and post-treatment advanced cervical cancer. Preliminary report.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of pre and post-therapy transrectal and transvaginal ultrasonography (TRUS, TVUS) with contrast enhancement and strain elastography compared with clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of advanced stage cervical cancer.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective study, carried out over a period of nine months on subjects with advanced-stage cervical cancer (stage >/= IIB). All included patients were examined clinically and underwent abdomino-pelvic contrast enhanced MRI and multimodal US examinations (TRUS with strain elastography and contrast enhanced TVUS) at the time of diagnosis and after radiochemotherapy.

Percutaneous sclerotherapy of liver and renal cysts, comments on the EFSUMB guidelines.

Cystic lesions in the liver and kidneys are common incidental findings. They are generally benign and require no treatment. They can appear sporadically or as part of a syndrome, and are characterised by their anechoic structure and posterior enhancement in ultrasound imaging.

Endoscopic ultrasound elastography: Current status and future perspectives.

Elastography is a new ultrasound modality that provides images and measurements related to tissue stiffness. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has played an important role in the diagnosis and management of numerous abdominal and mediastinal diseases. Elastography by means of EUS examination can assess the elasticity of tumors in the proximity of the digestive tract that are hard to reach with conventional transcutaneous ultrasound probes, such as pancreatic masses and mediastinal or abdominal lymph nodes, thus improving the diagnostic yield of the procedure.

Perihepatic lymphadenopathy in children with chronic viral hepatitis.

Objective: To assess whether lymph node enlargement in the hepatoduodenal ligament occurs in children with chronic viral hepatitis B and C in comparison to healthy controls.

Subject And Methods: In 49 patients with chronic viral hepatitis (38 with chronic hepatitis B, 11 with chronic hepatitis C, 31 male, 18 female; age range 1 to 17 years), and in 51 healthy controls (25 male, 26 female; age range 4 to 16 years), the total perihepatic lymph node volume was assessed using transabdominal ultrasonography as previously described in adult patients.

Results: Adequate visualization of the liver hilum was achieved in 46/49 (94%) pediatric patients with chronic viral hepatitis and in 46/51 (90%) pediatric healthy controls.

Villous adenoma of the common hepatic duct: the importance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for relevant diagnosis. A case report and review of the literature.

Adenomas are frequently encountered in the lower digestive tract but are rarely diagnosed in the biliary tree. We report a case of villous adenoma of the common hepatic duct. A 58-year old male was admitted with a four week history of intermittent upper right quadrant pain.

Benign nodular hyperplasia of the liver-pedunculated form: diagnostic contributions of ultrasonography and consideration of exophytic liver tumors.

Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is an asymptomatic benign liver tumor that may be detected accidentally during an abdominal ultrasound examination; it is associated with unspecific complaints, sometimes painful. Diagnosis can be precise using imaging techniques like ultrasonography. The diagnostic criteria are represented by the spatial display of the tumoral vessels and their hemodynamic characteristics.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the gallbladder: imaging aspects.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMT) are rare benign lesions that may often be mistaken for malignancies due to their imaging resemblance. There are a limited number of case reports in the literature on the location at the level of the gallbladder. We present a case of IMT of the gallbladder that emphasizes the importance of conventional ultrasound as the primary method of detection, as well as the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and strain elastography in describing the lesion, thus contributing to the differential diagnosis.

Neuroendocrine tumor of gallbladder with liver and retroperitoneal metastases and a good response to the chemotherapeutical treatment.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder is an uncommon disease. We present the case of a 45-year-old woman with a mass located in the gallbladder, whose diagnosis was based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. The tumor involved the liver and retroperitoneum, and was histopathologically confirmed by liver biopsy as a neuroendocrine tumor grade 3.

Transcutaneous Ultrasound: Elastographic Lymph Node Evaluation. Current Clinical Applications and Literature Review.

Distinguishing malignant versus benign lymphadenopathies is a major diagnostic dilemma in clinical medicine. Metastatic deposits in normal-sized lymph nodes (LNs) can be smaller than a millimeter, thus presenting a diagnostic challenge. In most clinical settings, however, enlarged LNs detected on imaging need to be classified as malignant or benign.

Vascular phases in imaging and their role in focal liver lesions assessment.

The incidental finding of a liver lesion with basic ultrasound is one of the most common clinical issues. Some of the liver lesions which present typical morphological B-mode features (e.g.

Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Classification of Focal Liver Lesions as Benign or Malignant.

Background And Aims: To assess the role of diffusion weighted imaging sequence (DWI), routinely used in hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the differentiation of focal liver lesions (FLLs) as benign or malignant.

Method: 99 FLLs assessed by liver MRI in 80 patients were included in the present study. All lesions were retrospectively analyzed by two experienced radiologists, independent from each other, who were not aware of the previous results obtained by using different imaging techniques.

Particularities of Crohn's disease in pediatric patients: current status and perspectives regarding imaging modalities.

A consensus on the best imaging modality evaluating inflammatory bowel disease in the pediatric population is lacking and it is often unclear which modality to choose in specific clinical circumstances. Children with inflammatory bowel disease are exposed to ionizing radiation from multiple imaging studies performed at initial diagnosis, throughout treatment and during the follow-up period. This paper discusses the value of different imaging techniques in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease and gives a review of the literature.

Endoscopic ultrasound: Elastographic lymph node evaluation.

Different imaging techniques can bring different information which will contribute to the final diagnosis and further management of the patients. Even from the time of Hippocrates, palpation has been used in order to detect and characterize a body mass. The so-called virtual palpation has now become a reality due to elastography, which is a recently developed technique.

Ultrasonography of the biliary tract - up to date. The importance of correlation between imaging methods and patients' signs and symptoms.

Ultrasonography is generally accepted and performed as a first choice imaging technique in patients with jaundice. The method allows the discrimination between cholestatic and mechanical jaundice. The existing procedures are multiple: gray scale, Doppler, i.

Benign liver tumors in pediatric patients - Review with emphasis on imaging features.

Benign hepatic tumors are commonly observed in adults, but rarely reported in children. The reasons for this remain speculative and the exact data concerning the incidence of these lesions are lacking. Benign hepatic tumors represent a diverse group of epithelial and mesenchymal tumors.

Local ablative procedures of the liver.

Local ablative therapies have become an important part in the portfolio of treatment for patients with malignant tumors especially in the liver. Although percutaneous ethanol injection still plays a role, current guidelines favor radiofrequency ablation with a higher efficacy for complete tumor destruction. Nevertheless transplantation and surgical resection remain the gold standard due to their superiority in local control and improved survival.

Focal masses in a non-cirrhotic liver: The additional benefit of CEUS over baseline imaging.

Incidentally detected focal liver lesions are commonly encountered in clinical practice presenting a challenge in the daily department work flow. Guidelines for the management of incidental focal liver lesions have been published but comments, illustrations and recommendations regarding practical issues are crucial. The unique features of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in non-invasive assessment of focal liver lesion enhancement throughout the vascular phases in real-time has allowed an impressive improvement in the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound.

Ultrasonographic imaging of inflammatory bowel disease in pediatric patients.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the most common chronic gastrointestinal diseases in pediatric patients. Choosing the optimal imaging modality for the assessment of gastrointestinal disease in pediatric patients can be challenging. The invasiveness and patient acceptance, the radiation exposure and the quality performance of the diagnostic test need to be considered.