The use of ultrasound in geriatric medicine.
Ultrasonography is now a well-established diagnostic technique and the initial screening procedure of choice in a variety of clinical situations. Its non-invasive nature makes it particularly suitable for the investigation of elderly patients. The uses of the technique are reviewed and the results of scanning 96 elderly patients over a period of 21/2 years are described. One hundred and fifteen scans performed of which only 12 were unsatisfactory for technical reasons. Eighty-two of the remaining scans provided useful information in confirming or refuting a suspected diagnosis and the information obtained often obviated the need for invasive investigations.
D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D000368:Aged; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D002779:Cholestasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D010386:Pelvic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D014463:Ultrasonography