Ultrasound for the Diagnosis of Biliary Atresia: From Conventional Ultrasound to Artificial Intelligence.

Diagnostics (Basel)

Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No 58, Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080, China.

Published: December 2021

Biliary atresia is an aggressive liver disease of infancy and can cause death without timely surgical intervention. Early diagnosis of biliary atresia is critical to the recovery of bile drainage and long-term transplant-free survival. Ultrasound is recommended as the initial imaging strategy for the diagnosis of biliary atresia. Numerous ultrasound features have been proved helpful for the diagnosis of biliary atresia. In recent years, with the help of new technologies such as elastography ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound and artificial intelligence, the diagnostic performance of ultrasound has been significantly improved. In this review, various ultrasound features in the diagnosis of biliary atresia are summarized. A diagnostic decision flow chart for biliary atresia is proposed on the basis of the hybrid technologies, combining conventional ultrasound, elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. In addition, the application of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of biliary atresia with ultrasound images is also introduced.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8775261PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12010051DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

biliary atresia
32
diagnosis biliary
24
artificial intelligence
12
ultrasound
11
biliary
8
atresia
8
conventional ultrasound
8
ultrasound artificial
8
ultrasound features
8
contrast-enhanced ultrasound
8

Similar Publications

Early differential diagnosis of cystic biliary atresia and choledochal cyst in the fetus: A multicenter retrospective study.

J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci

January 2025

Department of Neonatal Surgery, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

Background/purpose: Fetal hilar cyst is primarily diagnosed as two diseases after birth, cystic biliary atresia (CBA) and choledochal cyst (CC). The aim of our study was to explore more reliable indicators in early differential diagnosis of these cysts.

Methods: We recruited a total of 50 cases with a prenatal diagnosis of hepatic cyst at three centers, and patients were divided into a CBA group (n = 16) and CC group (n = 34) according to postnatal intraoperative diagnosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Impact of Hepatoblastoma on Infectious Complications Following Pediatric Liver Transplantation.

Pediatr Transplant

February 2025

Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

Background: Liver transplantation is the standard therapy for end-stage liver disease in pediatric patients with biliary atresia (BA), congenital and metabolic conditions, and for an unresectable malignant tumor like hepatoblastoma (HB). BA is the leading indication for pediatric liver transplantation, while HB is the most common childhood liver cancer. Despite improved outcomes through advanced surgical techniques and novel immunosuppression, pediatric liver transplantation (pLT) is complicated by post-transplant infections.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 (PFIC2) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by severe intrahepatic cholestasis, which often manifests in infancy with progressive liver dysfunction. We present the case of a 3-month-old infant with a one-month history of jaundice, vomiting, and bloody stools, presenting a unique set of diagnostic challenges. Initial clinical and laboratory findings indicated significant liver dysfunction, prompting further imaging and genetic analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Potential therapeutic effect of dimethyl fumarate on Treg/Th17 cell imbalance in biliary atresia.

Clin Immunol

January 2025

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, and Key Laboratory of Neonatal Disease, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 201102, China. Electronic address:

The imbalance between Tregs and proinflammatory Th17 cells in children with biliary atresia (BA) causes immune damage to cholangiocytes. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), an immunomodulatory drug, regulates the Treg/Th17 balance in diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). This study explores DMF's effect on Treg/Th17 balance in BA and its potential mechanism.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Post-Kasai cholangitis evaluation and management strategies: Review of the literature with insights from the Swiss Biliary Atresia Registry.

Semin Pediatr Surg

January 2025

Swiss Pediatric Liver Center, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Division of Child and Adolescent Surgery, Department of Pediatrics, Gynecology, and Obstetrics, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Cholangitis, defined as the inflammation of the bile ducts, is the most frequent complication after Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy in patients with biliary atresia (BA). This review seeks to provide a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on diagnosing and managing BA-associated cholangitis while identifying gaps in the existing literature. A scoping literature review was conducted to gather global insights into the definition, evaluation, and management of post-Kasai cholangitis, illustrated through data from the Swiss Biliary Atresia Registry (SBAR).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!