Clinical usefulness of abdominal screening by ultrasound

Abstract

Abdominal screening by ultrasound (AS-US) is a careful examination of the entire abdomen, unlike the routine ultrasonographic examination referring to patients’ symptoms. We evaluated the current status and the clinical usefulness of AS-US. A total of 2745 subjects who underwent AS-US from April 2016 to March 2018 in our hospital were enrolled. The location of abnormal AS-US findings were classified into the following eight areas: hepatic, biliary, pancreas, kidney/urinary, pelvis, gastrointestinal, vessel, and others, including the mesentery, spleen, and lymph node. Of all, 80 cases (2.9%) required precise examination after AS-US. Among these 80 cases, 56.3% of examinees underwent a detailed examination. The cancer detection rate in all the 2745 subjects was 0.1%. The most common area requiring a precise examination was the liver; however, no patients required any treatment. The vessel area, followed by other areas, pelvic area, and then the gastrointestinal area were the sites that required any treatment after AS-US. Therefore, it is important to observe the entire abdomen, including the vessel area, pelvic area, and gastrointestinal area, during screening by AS-US.