Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Body mass index is an important indicator in primary care as a measure of a specific health care outcome. As such, it can provide a quantitative basis for clinicians to achieve improvement in care and the process by which patient care is delivered. The potential impact of cardiac sonographic screening on body mass index in disadvantaged primary care patients is unknown. Changes in body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in patients who had cardiac sonographic screening were compared to changes in a control group of similar patients treated in a clinic where cardiac sonographic screening was not available. Control patients gained weight (BMI 27.8 at baseline vs. 28.3 at follow-up), while cardiac screening patients maintained weight (BMI 27.9 at baseline vs. 27.8 at follow-up, P < .05). In overweight patients those who had cardiac screening experienced better outcomes in the quality indicator BMI than control patients, yielding a statistically significant result for some subgroups of patients. Additional effort should be directed toward refining the motivational impact of cardiac sonographic screening. It appears in this particular study that cardiac screening in a community health center was associated with better control of BMI. Such screening may have a significant impact on motivating patients to take a greater interest in personal health maintenance.

Real-time elastography is an emerging sonographic imaging technique that provides a noninvasive method of evaluating biomechanical properties of a lesion: specifically, the elasticity, or stiffness, of the cellular composition relative to surrounding tissue. Clinical studies have demonstrated the diagnostic capability of elastography to detect specific cancers with accuracy that may substantially affect patient care and improve outcome. This literature review examines the basics of elastography, the advantages and limitations of this technique, and the results of research centered on its role in cancer detection and evaluation of tissue response to cancer therapies.

Cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) is a highly accurate screening test for major aneuploidies. Despite high detection rates and low false-positive rates compared to current screening methods, cffDNA testing is approved for use in only the high-risk population and is expensive for low-risk women because of a lack of insurance coverage. As the technology improves and research demonstrates the efficacy of cffDNA testing in the general population, insurance coverage of this test likely will be extended to all women. At that time, cffDNA testing in most cases will replace current screening methods. Furthermore, cffDNA testing may become a routine diagnostic test, effectively rendering most invasive diagnostic procedures obsolete.

Intramuscular myxoma is an uncommon benign soft tissue tumor that may arise from fibroblasts that produce an excessive amount of mucopolysacchrides. It is typically seen in adults in the large muscles of extremities and exhibits typical radiological features on sonography and magnetic resonance imaging. A case of intramuscular myxoma in the left Vastus intermedius is described in a 52-year-old man who presented with gradually increasing swelling in the thigh. The case illustrates characteristic radiologic “bright cap and rim” signs with pathologic correlation.

Wilson disease, also known as hepatolenticular degeneration, is a disorder in the liver that results in the improper metabolism of copper, which leads to accumulation of excessive amounts of this vital trace element in the liver, brain, eyes, and other organs. Although copper is essential for normal physiologic function, it can become toxic and life-threatening when too much is present within critical organs, especially the liver and the brain. There is no cure for Wilson disease, and patients affected with this disorder face a lifetime of treatment. Fortunately, the disease is very treatable if diagnosed before significant damage to the liver or brain occurs. This article presents a case study on Wilson disease and the role of sonography in helping diagnose and monitor patients with this condition.

This case presentation describes the early diagnosis of an invasive urinary bladder cancer in a woman in her late 60s with no history of cancer, hematuria, dysuria, smoking, or hormone replacement therapy. This was confirmed on histopathology after tumor resection. The case report demonstrates the importance of including scanning the urinary bladder in all pelvic sonography examinations, even in the low-risk population. The following study also discusses the prevalence, etiology, diagnostic tools, prognosis, and treatment of bladder cancer. Different types of bladder tumors, staging, and grading criteria are also described.

Pneumocystis jirovecii is ubiquitous in the environment and is best known as the cause of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immune-suppressed hosts. Extrapulmonary P. jirovecii is a rare complication of this opportunistic infection primarily seen in patients with immune-deficient states. Nephritis due to P. jirovecii was first described by Bargman in 1991 in a patient with atypical nephrocalcinosis found on conventional radiography. This case report presents a patient with Pneumocystis nephritis and describes the sonographic appearance as well as the advantages of sonography in the early detection of this uncommon condition.

Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) is one of the most common abnormalities of mineral metabolism in patients with chronic kidney disease. This case study is a report of a patient referred for sonography based on computed tomography findings of multiple supraclavicular lymph nodes. Sonography was able to localize two enlarged parathyroid glands (adenomas) and to guide fine-needle aspiration for histopathologic tissue diagnosis in this patient with SHPT.

As the population ages, sonographers will be required to do increasing numbers of examinations for patients undergoing dialysis. The hemodynamic changes that result from the placement of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or a dialysis access graft in the upper extremity can significantly influence the final diagnosis of an extracranial carotid arterial sonographic evaluation. The case study presented demonstrates the importance of obtaining a complete patient history on the resulting differential diagnosis.