Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 7, Issue 11 605-609, Copyright © 1988 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
The ultrasound appearance of radiation-induced hepatic injury. Correlation with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging
B. S. Garra, T. H. Shawker, R. Chang, K. Kaplan and R. D. White
Diagnostic Radiology Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
The ultrasound findings in three cases of radiation-induced hepatic injury
are described and compared with computed tomography and magnetic resonance
imaging findings. Fatty infiltration of the liver was present in two of the
cases in which concurrent chemotherapy was being administered. On
ultrasound B-scans, the regions of radiation injury were hypoechoic
relative to the remainder of the liver. This finding was more obvious in
the patients with fatty livers. CT scans on the patients with fatty
infiltrated livers showed higher attenuation in the irradiated region than
in unexposed liver. In the patient where no fatty infiltration was present,
the radiated section of liver had lower attenuation consistent with
previous reports. Magnetic resonance imaging showed decreased signal in the
exposed areas on T1 weighted images.
