Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 12, Issue 9 537-540, Copyright © 1993 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Sonographic findings of intestinal tuberculosis
D. H. Lee, Y. T. Ko, Y. Yoon and J. H. Lim
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Sonograms in 41 patients with intestinal tuberculosis were analyzed. The
sonographic findings of intestinal tuberculosis were thickening of the wall
in the ileum, cecum, or ascending colon (or in more than one of these). We
detected the wall thickening in 38 cases by sonography (detection rate,
93%). The ileum was the most frequent site of involvement. The patterns of
bowel wall thickening were diffuse in 30 cases and focal in eight cases and
were concentric in 28 cases and eccentric in six cases. The associated
findings were ascites, lymphadenopathy, omental cake, and cecal spasm in
order of decreasing frequency. The sonographic findings are not specific
for the diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis, but when noted in the
appropriate clinical situation would be of great help in the diagnosis of
intestinal tuberculosis.
