Upper abdominal cysts in first trimester fetuses

Outcomes associated with fetal hepatobiliary cysts: systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To explore the outcomes associated with fetal hepatobiliary cysts.

METHODS

MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for studies reporting on outcomes of fetal hepatobiliary cysts. Outcomes observed were resolution/reduction and increase in cyst size, associated congenital anomalies of the biliary tract and liver, abnormal postnatal liver function tests, clinical symptoms, need for surgery, postsurgical complications and predictive accuracy of prenatal ultrasound in identifying correctly hepatobiliary cysts. Meta-analysis of proportions was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The search identified 1498 articles, and 22 studies (252 fetuses) were included in the systematic review. For fetal hepatic cysts, resolution or reduction in cyst size either pre- or postnatally occurred in 59.3% (95% CI, 30.9-84.7%) of cases, while an increase in cyst size occurred in 8.7% (95% CI, 1.1-22.4%). No case of hepatic cyst had associated malformations of the biliary tract at birth. Clinical symptoms occurred in 14.8% (95% CI, 6.3-26.1%) of cases and, in 5.4% (95% CI, 0.9-13.6%), they were related to the presence of bile obstruction due to compression of the cyst on the biliary tract. No case of hepatic cyst had abnormal liver function at birth. For fetal biliary cysts, resolution or reduction in cyst size occurred in 8.7% (95% CI, 2.7-17.5%) of cases and an increase in size occurred in 34.4% (95% CI, 20.5-49.8%). Congenital anomalies of the biliary tract and liver, such as fibrosis, occurred in 21.5% (95% CI, 10.2-35.6%) and 17.4% (95% CI, 5.4-34.4%) of cases, respectively. 57.3% (95% CI, 33.9-79.0%) of cases showed impairment in liver function after birth, while 55.0% (95% CI, 37.5-71.9%) showed clinical symptoms, mainly due to bile obstruction (47.9% (95% CI, 29.4-66.7%)). Postsurgical complications occurred in 10.9% (95% CI, 3.7-21.3%) of operated cases. Risk assessment according to different cut-offs of cyst size could not be performed in view of the very small number of included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Fetal hepatic cysts are benign, with a low likelihood of associated anomalies of the hepatobiliary tract, abnormal liver function or clinical symptoms. Congenital biliary cysts are associated with a high rate of progression, abnormal liver function after birth and clinical symptoms. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cystic adrenal lesions: focus on pediatric population (a review)

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The cysts may potentially affect any organ; adrenals cysts are rare. This is a review of the literature regarding adrenal cysts, focusing on children and young adults.

GENERAL DATA

Three major types have been described: pure cysts (endothelial, epithelial, and hemorrhagic or pseudocyst), parasitic (as hydatid) cysts and cystic part of a tumour (most frequent are neuroblastoma, ganglioneuroma, pheocromocytoma, and teratoma). The complications are: bleeding, local pressure effects; infection; rupture (including post-traumatic); arterial hypertension due to renal vessels compression. Adrenal hemorrhage represents a particular condition associating precipitating factors such as: coagulation defects as Factor IX or X deficiency, von Willebrand disease, thrombocytopenia; antiphospholipid syndrome; previous therapy with clopidogrel or corticosteroids; the rupture of a prior tumour. At birth, the most suggestive features are abdominal palpable mass, anemia, and persistent jaundice. Adrenal insufficiency may be found especially in premature delivery. The hemorrhage is mostly self-limiting. Antenatal ultrasound diagnosis of a cyst does not always predict the exact pathology result. The most important differential diagnosis of adrenal hemorrhage/hemorrhagic cyst is cystic neuroblastoma which is highly suggestive in the presence of distant metastases and abnormal catecholamine profile. The major clue to differentiate the two conditions is the fact that the tumor is stable or increases over time while the adrenal hemorrhage is expected to remit within one to two weeks.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric adrenal cysts vary from simple cysts with a benign behavior to neoplasia- related lesions displaying severe prognosis as seen in cystic neuroblastoma. A multidisciplinary team is required for their management which is conservative as close follow-up or it makes necessary different surgical procedures in cases with large masses or if a malignancy suspicion is presented. Recently, laparoscopic approach is regarded as a safe procedure by some authors but generally, open surgery is more frequent used compare to adults; in most cases the preservation of normal gland is advisable.

[Fetal abdominal cysts at the first trimester scan]

OBJECTIVES

Abdominal cysts are seldom detected at the first trimester scan. The aim of this study is to ascertain their outcome, which is currently not established.

METHODS

The French College of Fetal Ultrasound conducted a prospective observational study of 24months, collecting all cases of abdominal cysts discovered during the first trimester ultrasound. Cases of megacystis were excluded from the study. Ultrasound images, prenatal diagnosis expert reports and pregnancy outcomes were collected by sonographers after patient consent.

RESULTS

Ten cases of abdominal cysts were collected. The cysts had a mean diameter of 15mm. They were anechoic in 5 cases, hyperechoic in 2 cases and mixed in 3 cases. In 6 of 10 cases, complete resolution was observed at 18WG with a good post-natal outcome; the five cases with anechoic images were associated with normal pediatric examination at birth and in the case of the resolved hyperechoic image, an isolated imperforate anus was observed. In the four cases of hyperechoic or mixed images that had not resolved, the outcome was poor with four termination of pregnancies, including two cases of cloacal dysgenesis.

CONCLUSIONS

Abdominal cysts are rare at the first trimester scan. They resolve in two thirds of cases and are then associated with good outcome. When they do not resolve or when they are not strictly anechoic, they require a referral ultrasound examination at 18 and 22WG.

Diagnostic Performance and Additional Value of Elastosonography in Focal Breast Lesions: Statistical Correlation between Size-Dependant Strain Index Measurements, Multimodality-BI-RADS Score, and Histopathology in a Clinical Routine Setting

Objective. To evaluate the diagnostic benefit of real-time elastography (RTE) in clinical routine. Strain indices (SI) for benign and malignant tumors were assessed. Methods. 100 patients with 110 focal breast lesions were retrieved. Patients had mammography (MG), ultrasound (US), and, if necessary, MRI. RTE was conducted after ultrasound. Lesions were assessed with BI-RADS for mammography and ultrasound. Diagnosis was established with histology or follow-up. Results. SI for BI-RADS 2 was 1.71 ± 0.86. Higher SI (2.21 ± 1.96) was observed for BI-RADS 3 lesions. SI of BI-RADS 4 and 5 lesions were significantly higher (16.92 ± 20.89) and (19.54 ± 10.41). 31 malignant tumors exhibited an average SI of 16.13 ± 14.67; SI of benign lesions was 5.29 ± 11.87 (P value <0.0001). ROC analysis threshold was >3.8 for malignant disease. Sensitivity of sonography was 90.3% (specificity 78.5%). RTE showed a sensitivity of 87.1% (specificity 79.7%). Accuracy of all modalities combined was 96.8%. In BI-RADS 3 lesions RTE was able to detect all malignant lesions (sensitivity 100%, specificity 92.9%, and accuracy 93.9%). Conclusions. RTE increased sensitivity and specificity for breast cancer detection when used in combination with ultrasound.