High-resolution real-time sonography of the adrenal glands: a routine examination?

The feasibility of imaging the adrenal glands during routine upper abdominal examinations was studied for 100 consecutive patients, 47 males and 53 females. The mean patient age was 46 years and the mean weight 63 kg. The suprarenal areas were scanned in a slightly oblique frontal plane through the intercostal spaces with the patient recumbent. The right adrenal gland was detected in 92 per cent of the patients, with a mean examination time of less than one minute. Visualization of the left adrenal gland was more difficult and was successful in only 71 per cent, even where additional views in the right lateral decubitus or erect position were added. The mean examination time on the left was 2 1/2 minutes. Complete visualization of the adrenal gland is impossible in one single plane because of the complex shape of the organ, which necessitates multiple contiguous scan planes. In 13 per cent of the visualized adrenals, cortex and medulla could be differentiated.