Role of high-resolution ultrasound in the assessment of abdominal wall masses and mass-like lesions

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of high-resolution ultrasound in the assessment of abdominal wall masses and mass-like lesions and to provide an overview of the sonographic appearances of different abdominal wall pathologies, 54 patients were included in a prospective study. The patients’ age was ranging from 1 to 75 years. Twenty-eight were females (51.9%) and 26 were males (48.1%); all were evaluated by a high-resolution ultrasound examination, and the results were correlated to the patients’ operative findings and histopathological results as well as the pelviabdominal CT findings. Results: In comparison to the operative, histopathological, and CT findings, the high-resolution ultrasound had an overall 100% accuracy for abdominal wall lesions, and for hernia cases, it had 100% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% accuracy, 100% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value. Conclusion: The current study had encouraging results regarding the role of high-resolution ultrasound in the assessment of abdominal wall masses and mass-like lesions; nevertheless, it is considered as an effective and simple diagnostic tool that may limit the patients’ exposure to invasive biopsies and to the hazardous exposure to ionizing radiation and contrast media administration like that in CT examination.