Ultrasonic differential diagnosis analysis of female urethral diverticulum and vaginal wall cyst / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the clinical and ultrasound image characteristics and differential diagnosis of female urethral diverticulum(UD) and vaginal wall cysts.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the clinical and ultrasound image features of 12 female patients with UD were collected as UD group and 30 patients with vaginal wall cysts confirmed by surgical pathology and clinical follow-up were collected as vaginal wall cysts group in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2017 to May 2021. Ultrasound image characteristics, and the main points of the differential diagnosis of the two were analyzed and summarized.Results:There were no significant differences in the age of the patients and the maximum diameter of the lesions between UD group and vaginal wall cysts group(all P>0.05). Eight cases (66.7%) of female patients with UD had urinary system symptoms, 5 cases (16.7%) of vaginal wall cysts had urinary system symptoms, the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05); In 10 cases (83.3%) the UD lesions were located in the upper middle and upper pelvic floor, and vaginal wall cyst lesions in 23 cases (76.7%) were located in the lower middle and lower pelvic floor, the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). In terms of ultrasound image characteristics, UD lesions were often irregular in shape, surrounding the urethra, with unclear borders, cyst wall thickness >0.1 cm, internal wall not smooth along with calcification, internal visible separation, partly visible to the urethra, and peripheral blood flow signals were abundant. Vaginal wall cysts were mostly round-shaped, not surrounding the urethra, clear borders, thin and smooth walls, less internal partitions, not communication with the urethra, and the peripheral blood flow signals were not abundant. The differences between the two group were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Whether the sound transmission inside the lesion was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Combined with urinary system symptoms, lesion location, ultrasound characteristics (morphology, whether surrounding the urethra, boundary, cyst wall thickness, inner wall calcification, internal separation, whether it is connected to the urethra, blood flow distribution) can be used to distinguish between UD and vaginal wall cysts, whether the sound transmission inside the lesion cannot be used as the basis for the differential diagnosis of the two.