J Korean Soc Med Ultrasound.  1997 Jun;16(2):135-140.

Measurement of Splenic Size in Liver Cirrhosis: Correlation between US and CT

• Rhim HC
• Kim CS
• Kim YS
• Koh BH
• Cho OK
• Seo HS

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the parameters of splenic size measurement to define splenomegaly in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, and to estimate the correlation between the parameters on US and CT. MATERIALS & METHODS: We performed a retrospective study in 50 patients with liver cirrhosis and 50 normal controls. We measured the splenic size of each patient on US and CT as follows : US-thickness(Tus), US-length(Lus), and US-splenic index with length(Slus-L; Tus x Lus) on the longitudinal coronal scan of US ; CT-thickness(Tct), CT-length (Lct; slice thickness x slice numbers that the spleen was scanned), CT-width(Wct ; the maximal length on the scan showing maximum cross-sectional area), and CT-splenic index with length or width (Slct-L; Tct x Lct, SIct-W ; Tct x Wct) on CT. We compared all the parameters of the liver cirrhosis group with those of the control group. We also evaluated the correlation between the corresponding parameters .
RESULTS
Significant differences were found in all parameters between controls and liver cirrhosis group. Accuracy of each parameters for diagnosing splenomegaly was about 70%. Good correlations were obtained between US and CT parameters. The correlation of simple parameter was comparable with that of complex one.
CONCLUSION
All the parameters of splenic size on US or CT was potentially significant in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Therefore, a single parameter may be preferred as a practical method because of simplicity and reliability. Good correlation between the parameters on US and CT may be useful in comparing the splenic size between the different modalities on the follow-up of the patients with splenomegaly.

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis*
Liver*
Retrospective Studies
Spleen
Splenomegaly