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Abdominal abnormalities in AIDS: detection at US in a large population
F J Smith1, J R Mathieson, P L Cooperberg
1Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
Purpose:
The authors studied the prevalence of abnormalities at abdominal ultrasonography (US) in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the temporal change in prevalence, and the use of US to correlate clinical indications with these abnormalities.
Materials And Methods:
From 1983 to 1991, 899 AIDS patients were seen, representing 89.36% of the 1,006 AIDS patients in the province during that time. Of these, 414 underwent 684 US studies, 399 of which were able to be reviewed.
Results:
US results showed abnormalities in 264 of the 399 studies, including splenomegaly (n = 124), lymphadenopathy (n = 83]), gallbladder and bile duct abnormalities (n = 80), hepatomegaly (n = 77), and ascites (n = 54). Clinical indications with the highest frequency of abnormal findings included hepatosplenomegaly (n = 337) and abnormal liver function tests (n = 270). Lymph nodes more than 3 cm in diameter (in 10 of 83 patients with enlarged nodes) always represented an abnormality other than reactive hyperplasia. The percentage of abnormal results went from 25% in 1984 (two of nine studies) to 81% in 1990 (77 of 95 studies).
Conclusion:
The prevalence of abdominal abnormalities depicted at US in AIDS patients has increased since 1983.