Abstract-Visceral fat accumulation is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Clinical evaluation of visceral fat is limited because of the lack of reliable and low-cost methods. To assess the correlation between ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) for the evaluation of visceral fat, 101 obese women, age 50.5Ϯ7.7 years with a body mass index of 39.2Ϯ5.4 kg/m 2 , were submitted to ultrasonograph and CT scans. Visceral fat measured by ultrasonography, 1 cm above the umbilical knot, showed a high correlation with CT-determined visceral fat (rϭ0.67, PϽ0.0001). The ultrasonograph method showed good reproducibility with an intra-observer variation coefficient of Ͻ2%. Both ultrasonograph and CT visceral fat values were correlated with fasting insulin (rϭ0.29 and rϭ0.27, PϽ0.01) and plasma glucose 2 hours after oral glucose load (rϭ0.22 and rϭ0.34, PϽ0.05), indicating that ultrasonography is a useful method to evaluate cardiovascular risk. A significant correlation was also found between visceral fat by CT and serum sodium (rϭ0.18, PϽ0.05). A ultrasonograph-determined visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio of 2.50 was established as a cutoff value to define patients with abdominal visceral obesity. This value also identified patients with higher levels of plasma glucose, serum insulin and triglycerides and lower levels of HDL-cholesterol, which are metabolic abnormalities characteristic of the metabolic syndrome. Our data demonstrate that ultrasonography is a precise and reliable method for evaluation of visceral fat and identification of patients with adverse metabolic profile.

Background and objectives: Nephrolithiasis (LIT) is more prevalent in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) than in the general population. Renal ultrasonography may underdetect renal stones because of difficulties imposed by parenchymal and/or cyst wall calcifications.Design, setting, participants, & measurements: A total of 125 patients with ADPKD underwent ultrasonography and unenhanced computed tomography (CT) scan, routine blood chemistry, and spot and 24-h urine collections.Results: CT scan detected calculi in 32 patients, including 20 whose previous ultrasonography revealed no calculi. The percentage of hypocitraturia was high but not statistically different between patients with ADPKD؉LIT or ADPKD. Hyperuricosuria and distal renal tubular acidosis were less prevalent but also did not differ between groups, whereas hyperoxaluria was significantly higher in the former. Hypercalciuria was not detected. Renal volume was significantly higher in patients with ADPKD؉LIT versus ADPKD, and a stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a renal volume >500 ml was a significant predictor of LIT in patients with ADPKD and normal renal function, after adjustments for age and hypertension.Conclusions: CT scan was better than ultrasonography to detect LIT in patients with ADPKD. Larger kidneys from patients with ADPKD were more prone to develop stones, irrespective of the presence of metabolic disturbances.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The initial method for evaluating the presence of pleural effusion was chest radiography. Isolated studies have shown that sonography has greater accuracy than radiography for this diagnosis; however, no systematic reviews on this matter are available in the literature. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of sonography in detecting pleural effusion, by means of a systematic review of the literature. DESIGN AND SETTING:This was a systematic review with meta-analysis on accuracy studies. This study was conducted in the Department of Diagnostic METHOD:The following databases were searched: Cochrane Library, Medline, Web of Science, Embase and Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs). The references of relevant studies were also screened for additional citations of interest. Studies in which the accuracy of sonography for detecting pleural effusion was tested, with an acceptable reference standard (computed tomography or thoracic drainage), were included.RESULTS: Four studies were included. All of them showed that sonography had high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for detecting pleural effusions. The mean sensitivity was 93% (95% confidence interval, CI: 89% to 96%), and specificity was 96% (95% CI: 95% to 98%). CONCLUSIONS:In different populations and clinical settings, sonography showed consistently high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for detecting fluid in the pleural space.RESUMO CONTEXTO E OBJETIVOS: O método inicial para a avaliação da presença dos derrames pleurais foi a radiografia de tórax. Estudos isolados demonstraram que a ultrassonografia apresenta uma acurácia maior que a radiografia para este diagnóstico, entretanto, não se encontram disponíveis na literatura revisões sistemáticas sobre este tema. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a acurácia da ultrassonografia na detecção de derrame pleural, por meio de revisão sistemática da literatura. Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs). As referências de estudos relevantes foram verificadas para adicionais citações de interesse. Foram incluídos estudos nos quais a acurácia da ultrassonografia para a detecção de derrame pleural tenha sido testada, com padrão referência aceitável (tomografia computadorizada ou drenagem torácica). TIPO DE ESTUDO E LOCAL: RESULTADOS:Foram incluídos quatro estudos. Todos apresentaram alta sensibilidade, especificidade e acurácia para a detecção de derrame pleural pela ultrassonografia. A sensibilidade média foi de 93% (intervalo de confiança, IC 95%: 89% a 96%), e a especificidade 96% (IC 95%: 95% a 98%). CONCLUSÕES:A ultrassonografia, em diferentes populações e cenários clínicos, apresentou consistentemente alta sensibilidade, especificidade e acurácia na detecção de líquido no espaço pleural.

The anterior ethmoidal foramen and the anterior ethmoidal sulcus were anatomical landmarks present in almost 100% of the scans studied. There was a correlation between the presence of supraorbital pneumatization and AEA canal visualization.