Diagnosis of abdominal hydatid cyst disease: the role of ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology.
OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively analyze the role of ultrasound (US) imaging and US-guided fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis and management of abdominal hydatid cyst disease (HCD).


METHODS
The medical records of 55 diagnosed cases of HCD seen between January 1986 and December 2000 at Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital and Al-Amiri Hospital in Kuwait were reviewed for demographic and clinical data, including radiology and serology. The US findings of the patients were classified into four types as follows: type I: single or multiple well-defined cysts, with or without detached or collapsed wall and with or without echogenic contents; type II: single or multiple cysts with peripheral cysts, with or without echogenic contents; type III: solid or semisolid lesions, and type IV: cysts with calcified walls.


RESULTS
The overall accuracy of US in the diagnosis of HCD was 80% (44/55 cases). US examination was suggestive of HCD type I, 16/19 (84%), type II, 21/23 (91%), type III, 3/8 (38%), and type IV, 4/5 (80%). For the 11 remaining undiagnosed cases, US was useful for localizing the lesions for US-guided fine needle aspiration cytology. It established the diagnosis in all the 11 cases, without precipitating complications.


CONCLUSIONS
US alone was valuable for diagnosing and localizing HCD in the abdomen except for solid-type lesions. US-guided fine needle aspiration cytology was useful in localizing and establishing the diagnosis of HCD in the cases where US alone was ineffective.
Sinan
Tareq
T
Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait, Kuwait.
Sheikh
Mehraj
M
Chisti
Fayaz A
FA
Al Saeed
Osama
O
Sheikh
Zafar
Z
Hira
P R
PR
Behbehani
Abdullah
A
D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000469:parasitology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000469:parasitology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007730:Kuwait; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography