[Results of ultrasound tomography in the diagnosis of liver diseases].

In a prospective study the impact of ultrasound tomography in the recognition and exclusion, respectively, of liver diseases was investigated. 646 patients with a suspected liver disease were sonographed in real-time procedure. The investigator was familiar with the history as well as with clinical and lab findings before the examination was started. The sonography was performed before a laparoscopy, liver blind punktion, scintigraphy, angiography, computerized tomography. The diagnoses were confirmed by sufficient, comparable methods (see above) or operatively; they were supported by a follow-up for one year. While liver cysts, cystic livers, liver abscesses, haematomas, metastases (with a diameter of more than 10-20 mm), stasis liver, cirrhoses with portal hypertension and fatty livers could be diagnosed with a high rate of confidence by sonography, healthy livers and the following disorders could not exactly be separated by ultrasound: acute hepatitis, reactive hepatitis hepatoses, chronically persisting hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, and livers with a low incorporation of fat.