[Value of ultrasonography in hydatid liver disease in children : a report on 42 cases (author's transl)].

Results are described, after ultrasonography, in 82 cases of suspected hydatid liver disease in children aged from 2 to 14 years. At the present time the diagnosis has been confirmed surgically in 42 cases. The authors emphasize the early age of development of these hydatid cysts, and that in this series they were most frequent in the group aged 5 and 6 years. The images obtained were arranged in an original manner into five different types (I to V), based on the morphological appearance and ultrasonographic characteristics of the hydatid liver cysts. The ultrasonographic images obtained are analyzed semiologically and a correlation established between these and the stage of development of the cysts in the childrens' livers. The differential diagnosis for each image is discussed. The proposed classification of the images could be employed in a general manner for other regions where hydatid cysts may develop, and which can be explored by ultrasonography.