Ultrasound imaging of the liver and bile ducts – expectations of a clinician

• Authors: Krzysztof Skoczylas , Andrzej Pawełas

Title variants

PL

Badanie ultrasonograficzne wątroby i dróg żółciowych – oczekiwania klinicysty

• Languages of publication: EN PL

Abstracts

EN

Since diseases of the liver and bile ducts are common, a clinician is faced by the need to implement an appropriate diagnostic process. It is necessary to apply diagnostic methods that enable appropriate assessment of the most common pathologies of the liver, i.e. fibrosis, steatosis and focal lesions, as well as initial assessment of the bile ducts. These goals can be achieved using ultrasound methods based on conventional sonography, contrast-enhanced sonography and elastography. The assessment of fatty liver and bile duct dilatation using ultrasound reaches satisfactory levels of sensitivity and specificity. The usage of contrast agents enables unambiguous differentiation between benign and malignant focal lesions, frequently allowing them to be identified accurately without the assistance of other imaging modalities. Elastography has enabled reliable assessment of liver fibrosis. Its results are comparable to those of the standard method, i.e. liver biopsy.

PL

W związku z powszechnym występowaniem chorób wątroby i dróg żółciowych klinicysta stoi przed problemem wdrożenia odpowiedniej diagnostyki. Istnieje potrzeba stosowania metod diagnostycznych umożliwiających odpowiednią ocenę najczęstszych patologii wątroby, to jest włóknienia, stłuszczenia miąższu wątroby, różnicowania zmian ogniskowych, czy wstępną ocenę patologii dróg żółciowych. Na osiągnięcie tych celów pozwala zastosowanie metod ultrasonograficznych opartych na klasycznej ultrasonografii, ultrasonografii z wykorzystaniem kontrastów dożylnych i elastografii. Ultrasonograficzna ocena stłuszczenia wątroby i poszerzenia dróg żółciowych osiąga zadowalającą czułość i specyficzność. Zastosowanie kontrastów dożylnych pozwala na jednoznaczne różnicowanie między łagodnymi a złośliwymi zmianami ogniskowymi, często umożliwiając prawidłową ich identyfikację bez konieczności stosowania innych metod badań obrazowych. Zastosowanie metody elastografii umożliwiło wiarygodną ocenę włóknienia wątroby, z wynikami porównywalnymi do standardowej metody, jaką jest biopsja wątroby.

Keywords

EN

CEUS; bile ducts; drogi żółciowe; elastografia; elastography; fatty liver; stłuszczenie wątroby

Discipline

• MEDICINE: MEDICINE

• Journal: Journal of Ultrasonography
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 62
• Pages: 292–306

Contributors

author

Krzysztof Skoczylas

• Department of Oncological Gastroenterology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland,

author

Andrzej Pawełas

• Department of Oncological Gastroenterology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland

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• Document Type: review