Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 18, Issue 6 411-416, Copyright © 1999 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Ultrasonographic diagnosis and color flow Doppler sonography of internal jugular venous ectasia in children
H. C. Chao, K. S. Wong, S. J. Lin, M. S. Kong and T. Y. Lin
Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
We investigated the diagnostic utility of ultrasonography in the diagnosis
of internal jugular venous ectasia. Eight children (six boys, two girls)
were recruited into this prospective study. Sonography of internal jugular
venous ectasia in these patients revealed fusiform dilation of the internal
jugular vein, and the possibility of thrombus and external compression
could be ruled out. Marked variation in size of ectatic jugular veins
during respiration was demonstrated under real-time sonography. The mean
anteroposterior diameter of these dilated internal jugular veins was
0.79+/-0.18 mm (mean+/-standard deviation), which increased to 1.58+/-0.27
mm with Valsalva maneuver. Our study showed that the anteroposterior
diameters of the internal jugular veins in cases of ectasia were greater
than those of contralateral jugular veins in same patients as well as those
in normal children, and they showed greater increase after Valsalva
maneuver. Under color Doppler flow studies, turbulent vascular flows were
demonstrated in these patients with jugular venous ectasia. No progression
of venous ectasia was found in any of our patients during a 6 month
follow-up period. We conclude that internal jugular venous ectasia in
children is a benign condition, which usually does not require surgical
intervention. Ultrasonography is a good diagnostic modality for the
diagnosis of internal jugular venous ectasia. Color Doppler ultrasonography
demonstrate the turbulent flow in jugular venous ectasia.
