J Korean Med Sci.  2000 Aug;15(4):371-379. 10.3346/jkms.2000.15.4.371.

Ultrasound examination of gastrointestinal tract diseases

• Lim JH

• KMID: 1730631
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2000.15.4.371

Abstract

With recent technical advances, increasing use of sonography in the initial evaluation of patients with abdominal disease may allow the detection of unexpected tumor within the abdominal cavity. Easiness of sonographic detection of bowel pathology, purposely or unexpectedly, warrants the inclusion of bowel loops during ultrasound examination when a patient complains of symptoms indicating diseases of the bowel. In patients complaining of acute abdominal symptoms or nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms and showing signs such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, hematochezia, change of bowel habit, or bowel obstruction, sonography may reveal the primary causes and may play a definitive role in making a diagnosis. On ultrasonography, abnormal lesions may appear as fungating mass with eccentrically located bowel lumen (pseudokidney sign) or symmetrical or asymmetrical, encircling thickening of the colonic wall (target sign). In patients with mass or wall thickening detected on ultrasonography, additional work-up such as barium study, CT or endoscopy would be occasionally necessary for making a specific diagnosis.

Keyword

Intestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Constriction, Pathologic; Inflammation; Intestinal Obstruction; Ultrasonography

MeSH Terms

Abdomen, Acute/ultrasonography
Aged
Appendicitis/ultrasonography
Colorectal Neoplasms/ultrasonography
Diverticulitis/ultrasonography
Female
Gastrointestinal Diseases/ultrasonography+ACo-
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/ultrasonography
Human
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/ultrasonography
Intestinal Obstruction/ultrasonography
Intestinal Perforation/ultrasonography
Intestines/ultrasonography
Male
Stomach/ultrasonography
Ultrasonography/instrumentation