Sonographic findings were retrospectively analysed in 39 patients with proven abdominal tuberculosis (TB). The patients were treated over 15 years at a major teaching hospital, Mubarak Al-Kabber Hospital, in Kuwait. The findings included clear or complex ascites with fine strands, loculations and debris. The other findings were lymphadenopathy, bowel wall thickening, omental mass, focal lesions in the liver and spleen and psoas abscess. The sonographic findings in abdominal TB are not specific but may give valuable information to prevent unnecessary laparotomy.

We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) in the diagnosis of bile duct calculi and stenosis. Two-dimensional fast spin echo (FSE) MR cholangiograms were performed using torso multicoil array as a surface coil and respiratory triggering in 50 patients suspected of having bile duct disease. Coronal and axial images were acquired and reviewed prospectively by two radiologists. Direct cholangiographic correlation (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography [ERCP], intraoperative cholangiogram, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram) and surgery were available for comparison and were reviewed by two radiologists. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRC in diagnosing bile duct dilatation, choledocholithiasis and stenosis were evaluated. It yielded a sensitivity and a specificity of 100% in diagnosing bile duct dilatation. In the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, MRC yielded a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity and an accuracy of 96%. Bile duct stenosis was diagnosed with a sensitivity and a specificity of 100%. We concluded that MRC exhibited high accuracy in diagnosing bile duct stenosis and choledocholithiasis.