Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P W Ralls.
Imaging and image-guided intervention have revolutionized management of hepatic inflammatory diseases. Pyogenic abscess is preferentially treated percutaneously. Radiologic techniques are crucial for the diagnosis of amebic liver abscess and infectious conditions of the liver in immunocompromised patients.
Over the past several years, we have developed a technique to assess the resectability of periampullary and pancreatic tumors using color flow sonography. This is a feasibility study to determine if sonography with color flow imaging can play a role in evaluating patients with periampullary and pancreatic tumors. This study comprises a retrospective analysis of 51 patients referred for color flow sonographic evaluation of resectability of periampullary and pancreatic neoplasm. Scanning was performed with state-of-the-art color flow sonographic systems. Vessels that were touched or occluded by tumor were categorized according to a Pancreatic Color Doppler Score. Other factors affecting resectability (metastasis, enlarged nodes) were recorded. Sonographic findings were correlated with surgical resectability and pathologic findings regarding tumor margins. The color flow study was complete technically (all index vessels visualized) in 49 of 51 patients (96%). In all, 643 of 647 vessels (99.4%) were imaged. Forty-five patients had sufficient surgical, pathologic, or clinical proof to be included in the resectability analysis. All 18 patients with circumferential tumor or vascular occlusion (Pancreatic Color Doppler Score 4 and 5) were found to have unresectable disease. All 10 patients in whom tumor did not touch (Pancreatic Color Doppler Score 0) had negative margins. All 30 patients considered to have unresectable tumors sonographically could not be resected. Patients in this category had one or more of the following: positive pathologic margins, positive nodes, liver metastasis, or not clinically resectable. Six of 15 considered resectable sonographically (40%) were unresectable for cure. Surgeons believed that color flow sonography influenced management in 10 of 45 patients (22% overall). Color flow sonography, a painless, noninvasive, and relatively inexpensive examination, may be an effective screening tool to evaluate periampullary and pancreatic neoplasms for resectability. Our data show that color flow sonography can correctly predict unresectability of periampullary and pancreatic neoplasms. Any future evaluation of imaging and management of periampullary and pancreatic tumors should include color flow sonography.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the sensitivity of color flow Doppler ultrasonography in assessing resectability of pancreatic head and periampullary tumors. DESIGN: Validation cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary care public hospital. PATIENTS: Thirty-seven patients with pancreatic head or periampullary cancer were studied by color flow Doppler examination of the relevant blood vessels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A pancreatic Doppler score (PDS) was defined as the closest circumferential contact of the tumor to the superior mesenteric vein, superior mesenteric artery, or portal vein. A PDS of 1 indicated no contact (n = 9); PDS 2, less than 50% contact (n = 10); PDS 3, 50% to 99% contact (n = 7); and PDS 4, encasement (n = 11). The PDS was compared with operative and histologic resection margins. RESULTS: The lack of vascular invasion was confirmed operatively in 7 of 7 patients with a PDS of 1, and 6 patients who underwent resection had clear histologic margins. Nine (90%) of 10 patients with a PDS of 2 were confirmed to have no vascular invasion, and 3 (43%) of 7 patients who underwent resection had clear margins. Five (83%) of 6 patients with a PDS of 3 had correct operative findings, and both patients who underwent resection had positive margins. Operative confirmation of encasement was found in all 7 patients with a PDS of 4 who had operative exploration, and none underwent resection. CONCLUSIONS: Color flow Doppler sonography and PDS predicted resectability and the histologic margin status (positive predictive value, 97%). Patients with a PDS of 1 are predicted to have clear histologic margins after resection. Patients with a PDS of 4 have unresectable tumors, and nonoperative palliation should be considered. Patients with a PDS of 2 or 3 have a high likelihood of positive histologic margins after resection and may be candidates for neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
OBJECTIVE: We performed this study to determine whether scrotal trauma can cause hyperemia of the epididymis. This diagnosis is helpful because traumatic epididymitis can be treated conservatively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed color Doppler and gray-scale sonograms of five patients who had suffered trauma to the scrotum that resulted in epididymal hyperemia, which we called traumatic epididymitis. We also reviewed the presentation and management of each patient. RESULTS: Color Doppler sonography revealed focal (one patient) and diffuse (four patients) hyperemia. Gray-scale images revealed epididymal enlargement in all patients. These findings were indistinguishable from those of infectious epididymitis by sonography. One patient also had hyperemia of the testis. Four of the five patients were managed conservatively; the other underwent surgical exploration for a coexisting testicular rupture. CONCLUSION: Careful evaluation of the epididymis with both gray-scale and color Doppler sonography should be part of every sonographic survey of the scrotum for blunt trauma. Traumatic epididymitis, which may be noted on color Doppler images, should not be confused with infectious epididymitis. Surgery is not necessary unless another injury requires it.
Hepatic adenomas are uncommon hepatic neoplasms that may be identified after life-threatening hemorrhage, or as an incidental radiologic finding. The incidence of malignant transformation is unknown, and the correct treatment strategy is unclear. We examined our 10-year experience in the management of 12 patients with hepatic adenomas. Eleven adults (mean age of 37.6 years) and one 3-month-old were identified. Nine of 10 adult females (90%) were taking a hormonal preparation at the time of diagnosis. Four patients with tumor sizes of 1.0 to 4.0 cm were observed after cessation of oral contraceptives. Four patients with lesions of 5.5 to 13 cm underwent surgical resection. Three had malignant transformation, and two of the three had increased Alpha-fetoprotein levels. Four patients presented with acute hemorrhage and were treated initially by hepatic arterial embolization. We conclude that management of adenomas should be individualized based on their size and mode of presentation. Patients with lesions less than 5 cm and normal alpha-fetoprotein can be safely observed off oral contraceptives and followed by radiologic imaging. Lesions >5 cm should be considered for surgical resection due to the risk of malignancy. Hepatic arterial embolization is a new approach for acute hemorrhage.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the evolving operative strategies in the treatment of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis (RPC). DESIGN: Case series of patients with RPC treated surgically at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center between 1980 and 1994. SETTING: Public teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty patients with RPC were studied. The clinical diagnosis of RPC was made in patients with a syndrome of chronic intermittent attacks of biliary sepsis associated with intrahepatic biliary strictures and intrahepatic stones. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The need for repeated biliary intervention after surgical treatment of RPC. RESULTS: Four patients had a hepatic lobectomy without biliary enteric bypass. One patient had an uneventful course. Three patients had postoperative biliary sepsis, and one of these patients died. A hepaticojejunostomy without a cutaneous stoma was performed in eight patients. Five (63%) of these eight required repeated operation for biliary sepsis 1 to 4 years after surgery. In eight patients, a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy was performed after attempted clearance of intrahepatic stones with construction of a temporary cutaneous stoma. Postoperatively, these eight patients had 16 transstomal endoscopic cholangiograms (mean follow-up, 10 months). Stones proximal to intrahepatic strictures were identified in seven endoscopic sessions in five of these patients (63%). The stones were removed, and the strictures were endoscopically dilated. None required repeated biliary operation. CONCLUSION: RPC is a progressive, lifelong disease. Construction of a hepaticojejunostomy with a cutaneous stoma allows future therapeutic intervention without the need for repeated surgery.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate prospectively the relative usefulness of color Doppler, spectral Doppler, and gray-scale sonography in differentiating benign from malignant adnexal masses. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 170 adnexal masses in 161 patients were classified prospectively as suggestive of or not suggestive of malignant tumor on the basis of gray-scale morphology, internal flow versus peripheral or no flow, and spectral Doppler pulsatility, as measured by a pulsatility index (PI) threshold of 1.0 and a resistive index (RI) threshold of 0.4. RESULTS: Surgical pathology revealed 123 benign masses and 46 malignant masses. One malignant mass was confirmed by cytologic evaluation of ascitic fluid. On gray-scale analysis, 46 of the 47 malignant masses were classified as suggestive of tumor, and 76 of the 123 benign masses were classified as not suggestive of tumor (sensitivity, 98%; specificity, 62%; negative predictive value [NPV], 99%; and positive predictive value [PPV], 50%). The use of internal color flow as a predictor of malignant tumor yielded a sensitivity of 77%, a specificity of 69%, an NPV of 89%, and a PPV of 49%. The PI and RI values were significantly lower (p < .0001) in malignant masses than in benign masses, although the values overlapped considerably. For a PI of less than 1.0, sensitivity was 67%, specificity was 66%, NPV was 83%, and PPV was 46%. For an RI of less than 0.4, sensitivity was 24%, specificity was 90%, NPV was 73%, and PPV was 50%. CONCLUSION: In our series, a gray-scale prediction of benignity was reliable (NPV = 99%), and a prediction of malignancy was unreliable (PPV = 50%). Internal color flow was not useful as a predictor of malignancy (PPV = 49%). Although the absence of internal or peripheral color flow suggested benignity (NPV = 94%), only 17 (16 benign) of the masses (about 10%) had no flow. Spectral Doppler analysis with RI and PI was not useful, as no reliable discriminatory value with both high sensitivity and high specificity could be found for either parameter because of the overlap in values obtained for benign and malignant masses.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the gray-scale and color Doppler sonographic appearance of testicular lymphoma and leukemia to aid in its differentiation from primary testicular neoplasms and inflammatory processes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the testicular sonograms of eight male patients 5-74 years old (mean age, 43 years) with pathologically proved testicular leukemia or lymphoma. All patients presented with testicular enlargement. Gray-scale sonograms were obtained to determine the presence or absence of a mass, focal nodule, or diffuse infiltration, as well as the degree of parenchymal echogenicity. Color Doppler sonography was applied in each case to determine the degree of vascularity compared with normal ipsilateral or contralateral testicular parenchyma. In patients with focal, measurable lesions, the size was correlated with its color Doppler sonographic appearance. RESULTS: Gray-scale sonograms showed either homogeneously hypoechoic testes in patients with diffuse round-cell infiltration or multifocal hypoechoic lesions of various sizes. Five patients had a total of 11 focal lesions that ranged in size from 8 mm to 26 mm in maximum diameter (mean diameter, 16 mm). Color Doppler sonography revealed increased intralesional flow in all areas of lymphomatous or leukemic involvement irrespective of lesion size. CONCLUSION: Our results show that testicular lymphoma and leukemia are hypervascular on color Doppler sonograms regardless of the size of the tumor. Although color Doppler sonography may provide useful information, differentiating round-cell infiltration from inflammatory processes of the testes remains difficult.
OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to characterize sonographic findings in patients with scrotal injuries caused by gunshot wounds and to determine if sonography can be used to detect and differentiate various scrotal abnormalities. If patients are managed conservatively, less serious injuries (hydroceles, hematoceles, and scrotal hematomas) must be separated from those requiring urgent surgical repair (testicular rupture). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sonograms obtained in 19 patients to evaluate gunshot wounds to the scrotum were studied for evidence of testicular rupture, extratesticular soft-tissue abnormalities, and the presence and location of foreign bodies. The results were compared with clinical (19 patients) and surgical (six patients) findings. RESULTS: Retrospective review of the sonograms showed normal testicles without evidence of rupture in 11 patients, eight of whom had scrotal hematomas, hydroceles, or hematoceles. Nine of the 11 patients were treated conservatively, and their symptoms resolved. In one of the other two patients, a prominent vessel was initially mistaken for a fracture plane; the testicle was found to be intact at surgery. The other patient was taken to surgery to remove a bullet in the peritesticular soft tissues; surgery demonstrated intact, viable testicles bilaterally, but both epididymides had through-and-through tracts from the bullet. Two patients had sonolucent tracks from missile pathways in otherwise normal appearing testicles. Testicular rupture was sonographically detected in six patients. Sonograms in all patients with surgically confirmed testicular rupture showed heterogeneous echogenicity and loss of smooth oval contour. In one patient, the sonogram showed a fracture plane. Sonograms showed foreign bodies in five patients and localized them to the testicular parenchyma (one patient) and to extratesticular soft tissues (four patients). CONCLUSION: Sonography can distinguish various scrotal abnormalities caused by ballistic trauma, information that can be useful to the urologist if conservative management is considered. Sonography can be used to distinguish less serious injuries such as scrotal hematomas, hydroceles, and hematoceles from surgical emergencies such as testicular rupture. Foreign body presence and location can also be determined. Epididymal injuries were not well visualized.
Color Doppler sonography was used to evaluate the length and distribution of the cystic artery in the gallbladder wall in 115 normal adults and in 54 patients with surgically proved cholecystitis. All patients were scanned with a 5 MHz curved array transducer optimized for low volume color sensitivity. A specific attempt was made to visualize the cystic artery throughout its course. Spectral Doppler waveforms were obtained to document arterial flow. The length of the cystic artery visualized was analyzed as a quartile percentage length of the anterior gallbladder wall. The distribution of the cystic artery flow also was analyzed in specific quartiles. Of 54 patients with acute cholecystitis, 26% had cystic artery length greater than half of the anterior gallbladder wall, compared with 2% of 115 normal controls (P < 0.001); 19% of patients with cholecystitis had flow in the distal (fundal) quartile, compared to 0% of normal controls (P < 0.0001). Although the presence or absence of flow in the gallbladder is not a reliable finding to establish the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis, length of cystic artery visualized is a potentially useful criterion to suggest the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis, especially in cases in which flow in the distal fundal quartile of the gallbladder. The usefulness of color Doppler sonography in acute cholecystitis is limited owing to the fact that it is insensitive, and many patients with cholecystitis have no detectable flow or have normal flow patterns.
OBJECTIVE: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a common complication in patients with HIV infection. The purpose of this study was to analyze the abdominal CT findings in a large series of patients with this condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the abdominal CT examinations of 110 men and two women (21-62 years old; average, 39 years) with untreated AIDS-related lymphoma, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control. Lymphoma was the initial AIDS-defining illness in 79% of the patients. RESULTS: Abdominal CT scans showed normal findings or only mild enlargement of the liver or spleen in 36% of the 112 patients, whereas evidence of intraabdominal lymphoma was seen in 64%. Evidence of focal lymphomatous involvement was seen on abdominal CT scans in 58 (98%) of 59 patients in whom the predominant signs and symptoms were related to the abdomen and in 14 (26%) of 53 patients with extraabdominal signs or symptoms. In the 64% of patients with evidence of intraabdominal lymphoma, lymph node enlargement was seen in 56% and extranodal disease was seen in 86%. Extranodal sites of involvement in the 72 patients with evidence of intraabdominal lymphoma included the gastrointestinal tract (54%), liver (29%), kidney (11%), adrenal gland (11%), lower genitourinary tract (10%), spleen (7%), peritoneum and omentum (7%), pancreas (5%), epidural space (4%), bone (3%), and muscle (1%). Mild enlargement of the liver or spleen was present in a minority of cases. Moderate or marked hepatomegaly (cephalocaudal span > 20 cm) and splenomegaly (cephalocaudal span > 15 cm) were even less common and occurred only in the presence of focal hepatic lesions. CONCLUSION: Our results show that AIDS-related lymphoma may affect any abdominal organ, most commonly lymph nodes, the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, and adrenal gland. Hepatic or splenic enlargement was uncommon and was not often seen as an isolated finding in the absence of evidence of abdominal lymphoma.
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Color Doppler sonographic images of five patients with a total of six lesions of FNH were reviewed. All cases were confirmed pathologically. All six lesions showed increased intralesional flow in comparison to surrounding liver parenchyma on color Doppler sonography. Four of the six lesions showed significant peripheral flow; two of the six lesions showed central flow radiating peripherally from a central vessel. We conclude that increased color Doppler flow may be a characteristic feature of FNH. Increased internal flow has also been reported in HCC and hepatic metastatic disease. Considerable overlap is seen in color Doppler flow patterns. However, in patients clinically at low risk for malignancy, detection of a liver mass with increased color Doppler flow should suggest the diagnosis of FNH.
The performance of therapeutic aspiration in the treatment of amebic liver abscess, advocated and practiced in many centers, is controversial. Previously, this practice has been evaluated in retrospective analyses. To test the potential benefit of therapeutic aspiration, the authors undertook a prospective randomized trial in 57 patients admitted for suspected amebic liver abscess during a 15-month period. Sixteen patients were excluded from the trial. The remaining 41 patients were randomly included in one of two study groups to receive amebicidal therapy alone or amebicidal therapy coupled with image-guided percutaneous therapeutic aspiration. All patients in the trial recovered. No statistically significant benefit was demonstrated in the aspiration group for the two objective parameters evaluated: length of hospitalization and duration of time to becoming afebrile. Subjective improvement in symptoms after aspiration was greater in the aspiration group at a marginally statistically significant level. These data do not support the adjunctive performance of percutaneous therapeutic aspiration in the treatment of uncomplicated amebic liver abscess. Amebicidals alone were equally efficacious in treating the group studied.
The value of color Doppler sonography in evaluating newly diagnosed Budd-Chiari syndrome in five patients was studied. Hepatic venous findings included absence of vessels (one patient), flow reversal (two patients), narrowing (four patients), and tortuosity (three patients). Detected collaterals included hepatic venous to hepatic venous (four patients), hepatic venous to subcapsular systemic venous (two patients), and portosystemic (three patients). Hepatic venous spectral Doppler waveforms were flat and essentially aphasic in four patients, indicative of distal hepatic venous compression. The inferior vena cava was markedly compressed in two patients and slightly compressed in one. Color Doppler sonography allowed more reliable and confident identification of irregular, compressed, or otherwise abnormal hepatic veins than did conventional sonography. Color Doppler sonography also showed collateral vessels that were undetected with conventional sonography or other imaging techniques. Our results suggest that color Doppler sonography may be a valuable tool in the initial diagnosis and evaluation of suspected Budd-Chiari syndrome.
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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of color flow Doppler sonography for the specific diagnosis of focal hepatic lesions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Color flow Doppler images of 118 focal hepatic lesions in 108 patients were analyzed prospectively. In most patients, liver disease was suspected or known to be present before the Doppler images were obtained. Experienced sonologists obtained and interpreted all sonograms. The lesions were classified, according to their color flow pattern, into two main categories: lesions with internal vascularity and lesions with no internal vascularity. The color flow Doppler pattern of each lesion was correlated with the diagnosis of the lesion on a lesion-by-lesion basis. One hundred two lesions were proved by biopsy and 16 lesions were confirmed by evaluation with other imaging techniques. Lesions included 29 hepatocellular carcinomas, 64 metastases, one cholangiocarcinoma, and 24 benign lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of vascularity as shown by color Doppler imaging in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma were determined. RESULTS: The majority of hepatocellular carcinoma lesions (76%) had internal vascularity. Most of the metastases (67%) and benign lesions (75%) had no internal vascularity. When the presence of internal vascularity was used as the discriminating criterion, the sensitivity of color flow Doppler findings for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was 0.76. The specificity of internal vascularity for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma vs other focal lesions was 0.69; for hepatocellular carcinoma vs metastases it was 0.67. CONCLUSION: Although most hepatocellular carcinomas have internal vascularity on color flow Doppler images, a significant number of metastases also have internal vascularity. This overlap limits the usefulness of color flow Doppler imaging for distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma from metastatic tumors.
Color Doppler sonography has become an integral part of modern hepatic sonography. Color Doppler can enhance the conspicuity of focal lesions and bile ducts in jaundiced patients by illuminating normal vessels with flow. Spectral and color Doppler may prove useful in limiting the sonographic differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions. Color flow sonography effectively evaluates pseudoaneurysms, A-V fistulae, collaterals, and flow reversal in portal hypertension, venous clot and tumor invasion, Budd-Chiari syndrome, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis, and many other hepatic vascular lesions. We have found it invaluable in evaluating cirrhotic and liver transplant patients.