Experiences with ultrasonic parasagittal sector B-mode scanning in pericardial effusion.

During parasagittal B-mode scanning of the liver, pulsatile cardiac interfaces are demonstrable by increasing the swept gain. In a normal patient the interface of hemidiaphragm and pericardium is combined. In a patient with a pericardial effusion there is a transsonic semilunar space which separates the combined diaphragmatic and pericardial interface from that of a pulsatile epicardium. A review of 30 cases of proven pericardial effusions revealed that the diagnostic accuracy of this method is virtually the same as that of M-mode scanning and, furthermore, that by using both methods some of the pitfalls of M-mode scanning can be avoided.