J Korean Med Sci.  2006 Oct;21(5):927-931. 10.3346/jkms.2006.21.5.927.

Abdominal Ultrasonography Findings in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury in Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Research Institute of Rehabilitation, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea. ksh0101@hanmail.net

Abstract

This is a retrospective study of 500 patients with spinal cord injury who underwent abdominal ultrasonography as a routine screening test from 2000 to 2003. We analyzed the results according to the different abdominal organ systems. Among the 500 cases, 226 (45.2%) showed abnormal findings. 98 cases of abnormal findings in the liver included 75 of fatty liver and 13 of mass. The 88 cases of abnormal findings in the bladder included 56 of bladder wall thickening, 14 of cystitis and 10 of urinary stone. The 35 cases of abnormal findings in the kidney included 19 of renal cyst and 6 of pelvic dilatation. The 35 cases with gallbladder abnormalities included 19 with gallstones and 11 with biliary sludge. Excluding the cases with bladder wall thickening, there were still 170 cases with abnormal ultrasonographic findings. Abdominal sonography seems to be a useful tool in detecting hidden intraabdominal pathologies in patients with spinal cord injury.

Keyword

Ultrasonography; Spinal Cord Injuries; Gallstones; Cholelithiasis; Bladder

MeSH Terms

Urinary Bladder/ultrasonography
Spinal Cord Injuries/complications/*ultrasonography
Retrospective Studies
Middle Aged
Male
Liver/ultrasonography
Kidney/ultrasonography
Humans
Gallbladder/ultrasonography
Female
Child, Preschool
Child
Aged, 80 and over
Aged
Adult
Adolescent
Abdomen/*ultrasonography

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