No abstract

No abstract

A single fetal ultrasonogram was obtained between the 20th and 40th weeks of gestation in 327 pregnancies. Fetal body weight was calculated with standard methods and fetuses were classified as appropriate for gestational age (303 fetuses), large for gestational age (four fetuses), or small for gestational age (20 fetuses). Fetal liver weight was estimated on the basis of longitudinal, anteroposterior, and cephalocaudal liver dimensions multiplied by a constant (k) of 0.42 determined experimentally in a previous study of adult livers. Estimated liver weights in appropriate for gestational age fetuses were not statistically different from published standards based on autopsy findings (P < 0.005). Similar findings were obtained in two other normal pregnancies examined serially until delivery. Estimation of fetal liver weight appears to be an accurate and reproducible method and may enhance sonographic assessment of fetal growth abnormalities and conditions with fetal liver involvement.

Duplex-Doppler was used to visualize intestinal peristalsis in 30 patients with intestinal distension. The series included 12 patients with acute mechanical obstruction, 13 with long-standing mechanical obstruction, and five with paralytic ileus. The Duplex-Doppler recordings showed several patterns characterized by different degrees of intensity and frequency of the signals according to the type of obstruction, its duration, and the site of Doppler sampling relative to the obstructed segment. Duplex-Doppler evaluation provided both qualitative and quantitative data about intestinal peristalsis, allowing differentiation between mechanical and paralytic ileus. The visualization of intestinal segments having different degrees of peristaltic activity proved useful in localizing the site of mechanical obstruction.

We prospectively evaluated the frequency of lymphadenopathy in the right upper abdominal quadrant as detected by sonography in 650 consecutive unselected patients, after excluding patients with a known lymphoma or abdominal carcinoma and patients with acquired immunodeficiency disease. Evidence of enlarged lymph nodes (few in number, with an elongated shape and isoechoic to the liver, 8 to 22 mm in size), found primarily in the gastrohepatic ligament and porta hepatis, was seen on sonographic scans in 106 patients (16.3%). Associated conditions in 69 of 106 patients (65%) were hepatobiliary or pancreatic diseases and, less frequently, other benign entities (12 patients; 11.3%); in 25 cases (23.5%) no significant abdominal or systemic disease was present. Comparison with CT or surgical findings, or both, was available in 36 cases. We conclude that lymphadenopathy in the right upper abdominal quadrant may be found in relation to different non‐neoplastic conditions as well as in the absence of any significant intra‐abdominal disease. The frequency of this finding on sonographic scans must be recognized to prevent misdiagnosis of lymphoma or metastatic disease as well as to avoid overstaging of local (hepatobiliary, pancreatic, gastric) neoplasms.