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Review
. 2019 Apr 6;7(7):809-818.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v7.i7.809.

Ultrasound imaging of abdominal sarcoidosis: State of the art

Claudio Tana  1 , Cosima Schiavone  2 , Andrea Ticinesi  3 , Fabrizio Ricci  4 , Maria Adele Giamberardino  5 , Francesco Cipollone  6 , Mauro Silingardi  7 , Tiziana Meschi  3 , Christoph F Dietrich  8
Affiliations
Review

Ultrasound imaging of abdominal sarcoidosis: State of the art

Claudio Tana et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Since it has been recognized that sarcoidosis (SA) is not an exclusive disorder of the lungs but can also affect other organs such as the liver and spleen, efforts have been made to define specific imaging criteria for the diagnosis of the single organ involvement, and the concept has been reinforced that the exclusion of alternative causes is important to achieve the correct diagnosis. Ultrasound (US) is a useful tool to evaluate patients with suspected abdominal SA, such as of the liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas and other organs, showing findings such as organomegaly, focal lesions and lymphadenopathy. While the diagnosis of abdominal SA is more predictable in the case of involvement of other organs (e.g., lungs), the problem is more complex in the case of isolated abdominal SA. The recent use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound elastography has provided additional information about the enhancement patterns and tissue rigidity in abdominal SA. Here we critically review the role of US in abdominal SA, reporting typical findings and limitations of current evidence and by discussing future perspectives of study.

Keywords: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound; Granulomatous disorders; Liver; Rare diseases; Sarcoid lesions; Sarcoidosis; Spleen; Ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Nodular hypoechoic lesion of the pancreas. A, B: Nodular hypoechoic lesion of the pancreas showing a mixed pattern (soft versus hard as red and yellow, green and blue colors, respectively) at endoscopic ultrasound elastography.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hypoechoic lesion of the kidney that was revealed as focal nodule from sarcoidosis (arrow).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ring-like echogenic pattern determined by a sarcoid lesion of the renal parenchyma (markers).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Progressive hypoenhancement in the arterial and portal-venous late phases, respectively, of a nodular sarcoid lesion of the liver.
Figure 5
Figure 5
A rare case of hyperenhancing lesion in arterial, portal-venous and late phase.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Two different cases of hypoenhancing nodules from sarcoidosis of the spleen.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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