role of color duplex sonography in diagnosis of head and neck nodal masses

The diagnosis of superficial lymphadenopathy is crucial for therapeutic planning in patients with suspected malignancy. Ultrasound, CT and MRI have opened a new horizon in the evaluation of the neck including LN status. These imaging modalities have an important role in the diagnosis, characterization, and help in the treatment of neck nodal lesions. This study aims to evaluate.the role of color duplex sonography [CDS] in diagnosis and differential diagnosis of cervical LN pathology. 48 patients with persistent palpable cervical LN were included in this study. All patients were examined by CDS and CT. The final diagnosis of all examined lymph nodes was made by lymph node biopsy, fine needle aspiration cytology [FNAC], and bone marrow aspiration. The results showed. 26 reactive nodes, 5 metastatic nodes, 13 primary nodal malignancies, 3 granulomatous nodes, and 1 leukemic node. The CDS can predict the diagnosis of reactive, metastatic, NHL, and HD enlarged lymph nodes. From the results of the study we can conclude that changes in shape and internal structure as well as vascular resistance of the nodes depicted at CDS as well as the vascular pattern [intranodal angio-architecture] seem to be valuable and sensitive parameters for differentiating benign and malignant lymph nodes enlargement with 97.9% accuracy. CDS is simple, non invasive, easily tolerated by patients, inexpensive and widely available. So, it can be used as an outpatient procedure for diagnosis and follow-up of patients with cervical lymphadenopathy. In contrast CT gives an idea about location, number and nature of LN pathology but with many drawbacks such as high radiation exposure and intravenous contrast

Gastric emptying by ultrasonography

Ultrasound examination for the stomach is a non-aggressive and easy technique validated versus scintigraphy. It has been used to assess gastric motility and emptying. The adoption of the [Fluid filled stomach technique] helped a lot to overcome certain difficulties which prevent good gastric imaging namely the presence of air inside the stomach which attenuates the transmission of the U.S. waves. We studied simultaneously the rate of gastric emptying in 10 healthy controls and in 10 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia [Chronic Upper Gastrointestinal Symptoms Without Organic lesion] after ingestion of 500 cc. freshly tap water, and 500 cc of liquid mixed meal. We found with the liquid mixed meal, that patient with non-ulcer dyspepsia had a significant delay in gastric emptying

Carotid duplex sonography in transient ischemic attack

Duplex sonography, combining B-mode imaging and doppler spectrum analysis, has been proved to be an accurate and effective means of detecting and assessing carotid occlusive disease. High resolution imaging allows assessment of the risk of embolism through plaque characterization, while image and doppler spectrum analysis provide quantification of flow characteristics to determine the degree of stenotic flow restriction