Figure 3 - uploaded by Matthew DF Mcinnes
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Acute gangrenous appendicitis. Longitudinal view of the right lower quadrant showing marked distension of the appendix with loss of appendiceal wall delineation and linear echogenic material (arrows) within the anterior wall. Sonographic evidence of a moderate degree of periappendiceal inflammation and surgical pathological report confirmed gangrenous appendicitis (patient 2 in Table 1).
Source publication
Abdominal sonography examinations include evaluation of solid intra-abdominal organs but do not routinely include assessment of the colon. The focus of this study was to determine the utility of colonic sonography in addition to abdominal imaging in the prospective evaluation of patients with nonspecific acute or subacute abdominal symptoms. Patien...
Citations
... Nevertheless, when the intestinal wall is influenced by tumor or inflammation, the "target" or "pseudo-kidney" appearance can be easily detected with a good examination [6]. A recent study by Kingstone et al [7] has reported that acute abdominal sonography evaluation in adults should always include an evaluation of the colon, which should be a routine procedure and may reveal surprise multiple coincidental pathologies of the colon. ...
Abstract
Aim: It is recently observed that there is not a remarkable advancement in gastrointestinal (GI) tract evaluations despite all developments in radiologi- cal imaging methods, and the high costs of examination, risk of radiation and difficult applicability in patients in modern CT methods emphasize the importance of ultrasonography (US) evaluations and stand US out as the scanning method in malignities of the GI tract. This study investigates the role of ultrasonography in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, although the gold standard is known to be the endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract or colonoscopy. Material and Method: The study included 40 patients whose ultrasonography and endoscopic examinations were planned with the preliminary diagnosis of tract malignity with findings of anamnesis and phys- ical examination. All patients underwent ultrasonography and endoscopy, and results were compared with histopathologic diagnosis. Results: The study included a total of 40 patients, including 25 (62,5%) male and 15 (37,5%) female patients. Malignity was histopathologically identified in 15 (37,5%) patients. The sensitivity of ultrasound to identify cancers to the GI tract was 71,4%, its specificity was 75,7%, positive predictive value was 65,2%, and negative predictive value was 19,3%. The sensitivity of endoscopic interven- tion was 100%, its specificity was 96%, and positive predictive value was 93,7%. Discussion: Abdominal ultrasonography is a very specific and sensi- tive method in identification of gastric-colonic cancers. Therefore, we be- lieve that the application of this non-invasive, easily accessible, cost-efficient method that does not involve radiation and entail risks before other diagnos- tic methods may be more helpful.
