Ultrasound International Open – Recently Published

Review of Dancing Parasites in Lymphatic Filariasis 

Christoph F. Dietrich, Nitin Chaubal, Achim Hoerauf, Kerstin Kling, Markus Schindler Piontek, Ludwig Steffgen, Sabine Mand, Yi Dong

doi:10.1055/a-0918-3678

Lymphatic filariasis is an infection transmitted by blood-sucking mosquitoes with filarial nematodes of the species Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi und B. timori. Worm larvae with a length of less than 1 mm are transmitted by mosquitoes, develop in human lymphatic tissue to adult worms with a length of 7–10 cm, live in the human body for up to 10 years and produce millions of microfilariae, which can be transmitted further by mosquitoes. The adult worms can be easily observed by ultrasonography because of their size and fast movements (the so-called “filarial dance sign”), which can be differentiated from other movements (e. g., blood in venous vessels) by their characteristic movement profile in pulsed-wave Doppler mode.

Fig. 5 Breast filariasis. B-mode imaging a and color Doppler imaging of breast filariasis b. Irregular amplitudes of color signals could be used to make a differential diagnosis.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Drainage of a Pancreatic Pseudocyst after a Bicycle Trauma 

Hanne Soender Grossjohann, Thomas Skaarup Kristensen, Carsten Palnaes Hansen

doi:10.1055/a-0948-5620

A 27-year-old healthy female suffered a grade III lesion of her pancreas after she fell from a bicycle and landed on the handlebar. At a local hospital a pancreatic contusion was found on a trauma CT scan, and the patient was referred to a level 1 trauma center with specialized HPB function. A reassessment of the CT scan revealed complete rupture of the pancreatic neck with a retroperitoneal hematoma without signs of other abdominal injuries.

Fig. 4 Gastroscopic view of the Hot Axios stent in the gastric lumen. CT scan with a Hot Axios stent between a collapsed pancreatic pseudocyst and the stomach.

The ‘Disappearing’ Liver on CEUS: Nothing to Worry About 

Thomas Müller, Friederike Posnien, Christoph Sarrazin

doi:10.1055/a-1005-7459

So-called prolonged heterogeneous liver enhancement (PHLE) after intravenous injection of various amounts of first- and second-generation US contrast media has been reported as case reports or small case series since 2002 (Okada M et al. Ultrasound Med Biol 2002; 28: 1089–1092), with reporting on a total of 33 patients to date. So far, no reliable conditions for the appearance of PHLE could be identified. The appearance of hyperechoic areas alongside the portal branches in the liver started mostly in the late phase and could be observed for hours.

Fig. 1 Almost three minutes after the injection of SonoVue^®, hyperechoic scattered areas appeared close to the portal vein branches and start spreading. Left: low MI mode.