Published in:
01-08-2003 | Original Article
Abdominal ultrasonographic findings in patients with sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia intermedia
Published in: Pediatric Radiology | Issue 8/2003
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Background
The high prevalence and heterogeneity of clinical and haematological phenotypes of sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia intermedia (TI) syndromes in the Greek population constitute a major challenge in routine medical practice.
Purpose
To investigate the spectrum and prevalence of abdominal US findings in these patients.
Materials and methods
The study included 105 patients, 13 homozygous for sickle-cell anaemia (S/S) and 92 with TI syndromes (Th/S, βthal/βthal or βthal/δβthal). The patients' ages ranged from 1 to 54 years, with 49 males and 56 females.
Results
At the time of the examination, 41% of the patients had undergone splenectomy and 23.8% had undergone cholecystectomy. The most frequent US findings (percentages refer to all patients) were: hepatomegaly (70.5%), splenomegaly (48.6%) and cholelithiasis (20%). A bright liver was identified in 3.8% and focal hepatic lesions were present in two patients of the TI group. Functional disorders of the gallbladder concerned mainly patients with sickle-cell syndromes. Of those with S/S, 30.8% had a shrunken spleen. An echogenic pancreas was identified in one patient in each group. Increased renal echogenicity was observed in 17.6% of patients with sickle-cell syndromes. One case of polycystic kidney disease was diagnosed and coexisted with S/S.
Conclusions
The value of US imaging in detecting complications of sickle-cell and TI syndromes is still debated. To our knowledge, there are no previous reports concerning the frequency and spectrum of abdominal US findings in patients with these syndromes.