Biliary fascioliasis: Sonographic appearance patterns

Abstract

Purpose. To describe the sonographic findings of biliary fascioliasis.Method. The study included 27 patients with fascioliasis and abdominal sonographic findings in biliary system. All diagnoses were confirmed via serologic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and 5 patients underwent cholecystectomy. Sonographic findings in the biliary system were defined as primary and secondary.Results. Primary findings included spontaneously moving echogenic structures, linear echoes, curvilinear echoes, oval-shaped echogenic structure, matted echogenic particle, echogenic particle adherent to the gallbladder wall, motionless freely floating round echogenic foci, and leaf-like echogenic structures. Secondary findings were dilatation or wall thickening of the biliary system. In the liver, multiple confluent subcapsular nodules were also noted on sonography and CT in 14 of 27 patients.Conclusion. Sonography can detect biliary system lesions in fascioliasis and can aid diagnosis of the disease. However, the radiologist should be familiar with the different sonographic appearances of biliary fascioliasis.

Multiple liver masses in a patient with breast cancer, metastasis or not? An unexpected diagnosis: hepatic fascioliasis. A case report and overview of the literature from Turkey

“… 9 , 10 When we retrospectively re-examined our patient, we detected a thin, linear echogenicity 1.5 cm long, one end of which was fixed to the posterior wall of the common bile duct ( Figure 6 ). Although this appearance was also consistent with the previously described sonographic appearances of the adult parasites in the literature, 8 , 16 we did not perform any further investigations because the patient had already been diagnosed with the infection and there were no signs of cholestasis that would have required further endoscopic intervention. There are also some reports that stress the importance of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the diagnosis and treatment of the chronic phase of the disease.…”

Sonographic Findings of Hepatobiliary Fascioliasis Accompanied by Extrahepatic Expansion and Ectopic Lesions

“…The differential diagnosis of biliary fascioliasis is presented in Table 2. In a study of 27 patients by Yesildag et al, 2 gallbladder wall thickening in 7 patients (25.9%) and common bile duct wall thickening in 4 (14.8%) were detected at lower rates than in our study.…”

“…Therefore, appropriate imaging is important for the differential diagnosis and treatment decisions. The classic computed tomographic findings in fascioliasis have been described by several authors 8 – 10 ; however, sonographic findings are less frequently described in the literature 2 , 11 …”

“…The classic computed tomographic findings in fascioliasis have been described by several authors [8][9][10] ; however, sonographic findings are less frequently described in the literature. 2,11 In this study, our primary aim was to describe the sonographic features of fascioliasis. Sonography was chosen because it is a useful, easily accessible, and low-cost imaging method for detection of hepatic and biliary lesions.…”

An incidental case of biliary fascioliasis with subtle clinical findings: US and MRCP findings

“…Typical radiological findings of biliary fascioliasis have been reported previously 4,5. Herein we present a case of biliary fascioliasis with no biliary obstruction and cholestasis; unique MRCP and US imaging findings.…”