Ultrasound findings in perihepatitis associated with pelvic inflammatory disease

The width of the right anterior extrarenal tissue was increased on ultrasound examination in 9 patients with perihepatitis (Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome). Normal values were obtained in 72 women without detectable or known disease and were found to be between 1 mm and 5 mm (mean 1.8 mm). The 9 patients with laparoscopically verified perihepatitis who demonstrated this thickening had values ranging from 6 mm to 12 mm, (mean 7.7 mm). Although the incidence of this inflammatory thickening in perihepatitis is not known, its value is that in its ultrasonic demonstration a careful search should be made for inflammatory disease in structures related to the anterior pararenal space.