title: Multimodality imaging in diagnosis and management of alveolar echinococcosis: an update.
abstract: Alveolar echinococcosis is a parasitic disease limited to the northern hemisphere. The disease occurs primarily in the liver and shows a profile mimicking slow-growing malignant tumors. Echinococcus multilocularis infection is fatal if left untreated. It can cause several complications by infiltrating the vascular structures, biliary tracts, and the hilum of the liver. As it can invade the adjacent organs or can spread to distant organs, alveolar echinococcosis can easily be confused with malignancies. We provide a brief review of epidemiologic and pathophysiologic profile of alveolar echinococcosis and clinical features of the disease. This article focuses primarily on the imaging features of alveolar echinococcosis on ultrasonogra-phy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging and positron emission tomography-computed tomography. We also reviewed the role of radiology in diagnosis, management, and follow-up of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, İstanbul University, İstanbul Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey. mesutbulakci@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mesut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulakçı
authors.forename: Merve Gülbiz
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kartal
authors.forename: Sabri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.forename: Ravza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Şahin
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aşık
authors.forename: Oğuz Bülent
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Erol
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D004443:Echinococcosis; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography