Diagnostic significance of ultrasonography and CT for large upper abdominal mass.

Objective To assess the effect of ultrasonography and computerized tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of large upper abdominal mass. Methods Data from 43 cases that were clinically and pathologically confirmed were retrospectively analyzed and the effect of their preoperative ultrasonography and CT was compared. Results Four of 10 (40%) cases of liver mass were diagnosed correctly using ultrasonic device, nineteen of 25 (76%) cases of adrenal gland mass and 2 of 4 cases of kidney mass. Two of 10 (20%) cases of liver mass were correctly diagnosed by CT, and so were 6 of 22 (27.2%) cases of adrenal gland mass. In 4 patients with spleen mass, neither ultrasonography nor CT diagnosis was correct. Conclusion Because upper abdomen organs are closely connected with each other, correct imaging localization of a large mass in this region is not easy. In this study, we compared the accuracy of ultrasonography and CT in diagnosing large upper abdominal masses, and found that ultrasonography works better for adrenal rather than liver or kidney. Neither ultrasonography or CT could accurately diagnose a large mass in the spleen.