Ultrasonography and alpha-fetoprotein in diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis.

The accuracy of ultrasound (US) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 363 patients with cirrhosis (C) and a clinical suspicion of HCC was assessed. The ultrasonographic patterns of HCC and their relationship with AFP values were analyzed. Echographic patterns were distributed as follows: 47 patients had sonodense lesions; 30 patients had hypoechoic lesions; 47 had mixed-pattern lesions, and in four patients focal dilated intrahepatic bile ducts were demonstrated.

Sludge and stones in gallbladder after pregnancy. Prevalence and risk factors.

The prevalence of sludge and stones in the gallbladder of 298 women in the immediate post-partum period was ultrasonographically assessed. We have investigated some risk factors for the development of sludge or stones in these patients and followed up most of these patients by ultrasonography to detect the presence of sludge and/or stones in the year following their discovery. We found sludge in 80 (26.

Predictive value of ultrasonography in the screening of non-ascitic cirrhotic patients with large varices.

To evaluate the accuracy of ultrasonography in the screening of cirrhotic patients with large varices, the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves of the portal, mesenteric, and splenic veins of 215 consecutive non-ascitic patients were plotted in order to select the most indicative optimal threshold. The contribution of respiratory variations of splenic and mesenteric veins was also evaluated. Taking 13 mm as the limit for the normal diameter of the portal vein, 10 and 9 mm for the upper limits of the mesenteric and splenic veins, respectively, and respiratory variations being absent, the positive rates were 91, 88, and 92 per cent and the false-positive rates were 44, 38, and 42 per cent, respectively.

Ultrasonographic and radionuclide detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotics with low alpha-fetoprotein levels.

A total of 67 cirrhotic patients with clinically suspected neoplastic degeneration and low alpha-fetoprotein levels were assessed prospectively with ultrasound and gold (198Au) scintigraphy. Ultrasound showed space-occupying lesions in 22 of the 24 patients who had a final diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (sensitivity, 95.8%) and excluded the presence of HCC in 37 of the 43 patients with cirrhosis only (specificity, 86.