[The ultrasound contrast agent levovist helps with the differentiation between accessory spleen and lymph nodes in the splenic hilum: a pilot study].
BACKGROUND
In patients with focal lesions which are isoechogenic to the spleen and which are located next to the spleen it is not easy to differentiate between lymph nodes and the accessory spleen. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate if the color-SAE technique performed after injection of Levovist is able to differentiate between accessory spleens and lymph nodes in patients with a mass in the hilus of the spleen.


METHODS
12 patients with sonographic proof of a hypoechoic mass in the hilus of the spleen were examined (Sonoline-Elegra ultrasound system, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). Color-SAE was performed 10 minutes after injection of 1 g of Levovist i. v.


RESULTS
All patients with accessory spleens (n = 7) showed a color-SAE mosaic pattern in the localization of the mass comparable to the color-SAE mosaic found in the spleen. In contrast, in none of the patients with lymph nodes next to the spleen (n = 5) was a color-mosaic pattern localized to the mass found, wheras the spleen showed regular color-SAE in all cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Color-SAE with Levovist is a new diagnostic tool for the differentiation between accessory spleens and lymph nodes.
von Herbay
A
A
Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf, Medizinische Klinik, Klinik für Gastroenterologie, Hepatologie und Infektiologie. Alexandra.vonHerbay@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Vogt
C
C
Häussinger
D
D
D003287:Contrast Media; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011134:Polysaccharides; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013154:Spleen / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media; D011134:Polysaccharides; C059891:SHU 508