Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 1, Issue 5 201-203, Copyright © 1982 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Comparison of real-time and static-mode gray-scale ultrasonography in the diagnosis of cholelithiasis
M. R. Clair, E. R. Rosenberg, P. C. Ram and J. D. Bowie
Real-time and conventional articulated-arm gray-scale static-mode scanning
were performed on 100 patients in a prospective study to determine the
complementary or duplicative roles of these two ultrasound modalities in
the confirmation of clinically suspected cholelithiasis. Twenty-five
abnormal findings were documented ultrasonographically, including 21 cases
of cholelithiasis (12 confirmed by oral cholecystography and/or surgery),
two cases of biliary sludge, one case of a gallbladder polyp, and one case
of a probable blood clot. There was no instance of gallbladder lumen
nonvisualization. Except in one case (that of a 420-pound patient),
real-time ultrasonography documented all the gallbladder abnormalities
shown by the articulated-arm static scans. In two cases, one corroborated
by oral cholecystography, cholelithiasis was documented by real-time and
not by static-mode ultrasonography. In most cases, real-time
ultrasonography can be used to document the presence of cholelithiasis and
obviate the need for conventional articulated-arm static-mode scanning.
