[Ultrasonic diagnosis in infiltrative gastrointestinal diseases (author's transl)].

The cockade phenomenon in the ultrasound picture is a sign of an infiltration of the gastrointestinal wall caused by tumour or inflammation. In 27 out of 40 patients with known infiltrations of the wall the cockade phenomenon could be demonstrated. In 16 out of 21 patients in whom this ultrasound phenomenon had primarily led to a suspected wall infiltration further diagnostic investigations proved organic wall thickening. Even if the cockade phenomenon is thus neither a specific nor a sensitive sign of gastrointestinal wall infiltrations the observation of this phenomenon is particularly important in patients in whom wall infiltrations of the gastrointestinal tract are not suspected.