[Standardized contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in clinical acute and emergency medicine and critical care (CEUS Acute) : Consensus statement of DGIIN, DIVI, DGINA, DGAI, DGK, ÖGUM, SGUM and DEGUM]. / Standardisierte Kontrastmittelsonographie (CEUS) in der klinischen Akut- und Notfallmedizin sowie Intensivmedizin (CEUS Akut) : Konsensuspapier der DGIIN, DIVI, DGINA, DGAI, DGK, ÖGUM, SGUM und DEGUM.

The present document describes the possible applications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in emergency examinations. Guidelines on contrast medium ultrasound in acute and emergency care and intensive care medicine have not yet been published. Evidence-based CEUS guidelines were first provided by the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) and the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB). The presented recommendations describe the possible applications and protocols of CEUS in acute care.

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for the Detection of Abdominal Complications in Infective Endocarditis: First Experience From a Prospective Cohort.

Embolic events are associated with increased mortality in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). The goal of this study was to gain experience with the application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in IE to detect abdominal complications. CEUS was performed in 40 patients from a prospective register of IE. CEUS was able to detect abdominal embolic events or metastatic infection in 12 patients (30%). Most commonly seen were splenic infarctions (n = 10), followed by renal infarction (n = 2), liver abscess (n = 1) and mycotic aneurysm (n = 1). Six out of 14 lesions were only detected by CEUS and not by conventional ultrasound. Abdominal complications revealed by CEUS were associated with a detectable valve vegetation (p = 0.04) and larger vegetation size (p = 0.01). In three patients, a non-IE related abdominal lesion (two hepatocellular carcinomas, one psoas hematoma) was detected. CEUS is a feasible diagnostic method in detection of abdominal complications of IE.

Jejunal varices as a rare cause of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding in a 74-year-old man with extrahepatic portal hypertension after pancreato-biliary surgery.

A 74-year-old man presented to our hospital with recurrent lower gastrointestinal bleeding. His past medical history was remarkable for a duodenal papilla carcinoma and he underwent a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy 4 years before. During diagnostic work-up a severe portal vein stenosis after surgery and multiple dilated intramural jejunal varices, which formed as collateral pathways could be detected. Based on these findings, the recurrent haemorrhages were considered to be due to repeated rupturing and bleeding of jejunal varices. Therapeutically, the portal vein stenosis was treated with endovascular stent placement leading to a reduction in prestenotic portal pressure. During follow-up no further episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding were observed. Bleeding from jejunal varices is a very rare cause of gastrointestinal haemorrhages and represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. However, it should be considered in differential diagnosis of obscure recurrent gastrointestinal haemorrhages in patients with a history of hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery.

Severe disseminated tuberculosis in HIV-negative refugees.

In high-income countries, the presentation of tuberculosis is changing, primarily because of migration, and understanding the specific health needs of susceptible populations is becoming increasingly important. Although disseminated tuberculosis is well documented in HIV-positive patients, the disease is poorly described and less expected in HIV-negative individuals. In this Grand Round, we report eight HIV-negative refugees, who presented with extensively disseminated tuberculosis. We discuss the multifactorial causes, such as deprivations during long journeys, precarious living conditions, and the experience of violence, which might add to nutritional factors and chronic disorders, eventually resulting in a state of predisposition to immune deficiency. We also show that disseminated tuberculosis is often difficult to diagnose when pulmonary symptoms are absent. Communication difficulties between refugees and health-care workers are another major hurdle, and every effort should be made to get a valid patient history. This medical history is crucial to guide imaging and other diagnostic procedures to establish a definite diagnosis, which should be confirmed by a positive tuberculosis culture. Because many of these patients are at risk for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, drug susceptibility testing is imperative to guide therapy. In the absence of treatment guidelines for this entity, clinicians can determine treatment duration according to recommendations provided for extrapulmonary tuberculosis and affected organs. Paradoxical expansion of tuberculous lesions during therapy should be treated with corticosteroids. In many cases, treatment duration must be individualised and might even exceed 12 months.

[Foreign-Body Ingestion: A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain]. / Die Fremdkörperingestion ­ eine seltene Ursache persistierender, unklarer abdomineller Schmerzen.

HISTORY AND FINDINGS UPON ADMISSION: A 50-year-old man presented at the emergency unit with abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant and dysuria. He described an increase in pain during micturition. EXAMINATIONS: After multiple examinations (CT-scan, MR-scan, ileocolonoscopy) were performed to no avail, a toothpick was detected in the terminal ileum during an ultrasound scan of the small intestine. Prompted elevation of intra-abdominal pressure led to migration of the radiolucent sharp foreign body into the wall of the urinary bladder, inducing pain. TREATMENT: Median laparotomy revealed a two-sided perforation of the terminal ileum with ileosigmoidal fistula, which was induced by an ingested toothpick. The patient underwent en-bloc resection of the infectious tumor by segmental ileal resection and sigma resection. Anastomoses were performed as hand-sewn end-to-end ileoileostomy and end-to-end stapled colorectal anastomosis, respectively. CONCLUSION: Ingested foreign bodies and perforation of the gastrointestinal tract by foreign bodies are rare events but may cause serious gut injuries. The ingestion of foreign bodies should be kept in mind as an important differential diagnosis in patients with acute abdomen or chronic abdominal pain of unknown origin, especially in children. Abdominal ultrasound can be a useful diagnostic tool in identifying ingested foreign bodies.

[Value of ultrasound in diagnostic and follow-up of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases]. / Ultraschall zur Diagnostik und Verlaufskontrolle chronisch-entzündlicher Darmerkrankungen.

Transabdominal ultrasound as an easy to use, accurate, cost-effective and pleasant method has emerged as one of the most important imaging techniques in daily routine. Ultrasound is efficient for the diagnosis and differentiation of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). For monitoring disease activity and severity as well as identifying complications (stenosis, abscess and fistula) high-resolution ultrasonography with Doppler techniques and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is well suited. Perineal ultrasound and extravascular CEUS can give important information for clinical management of patients with IBD. The aim of this article is to give an updated overview about the clinical applications of ultrasound in the diagnosis and followup of patients with IBD.

Acoustic structure quantification ultrasound software proves imprecise in assessing liver fibrosis or cirrhosis in parenchymal liver diseases.

The present study was conducted to assess the diagnostic accuracy of Acoustic Structure Quantification (ASQ) ultrasound software in liver biopsy of patients with liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Eighty patients (47 ± 14 y, 41 men) with chronic liver diseases underwent ultrasound examination of the liver and liver biopsy. In addition to the standard-care ultrasound examination, three valid gray-scale images were obtained for each patient. With the ASQ software, the average and peak values (Cm(2)) of each ultrasound gray-scale image were calculated and then compared with histologic fibrosis staging (F0-F4). No correlation was found between ASQ values and histologic fibrosis stage (p > 0.05). Areas under the curve for the diagnosis of no or mild fibrosis (F0 and F1), moderate/severe fibrosis (F2 and F3) and cirrhosis (F4) using average/peak Cm(2) values of small regions of interest were 0.46/0.43, 0.62/0.68 and 0.38/0.33. Determination of liver fibrosis with ASQ in its present form as an alternative approach to liver biopsy is too imprecise.