Assessment of Abdominal Lymph Nodes Enlargement Using MDCT

Abstract

The main objective of this study To evaluate the presence of abdominal lymph node enlargement by using MDCT and find the incidence in cases of inflammatory process and malignancy . A CT scans were reviewed for patients in whom the MDCT scan revealed abdominal abnormality. Patients with a documented history of cancer or any illness known to cause lymphadenopathy were included males and females Their age from ≤30 to ≥106 years, with a mean age of 52.05±18.26years. In accordance with our departmental protocol for imaging the abdominal cases, the patients were administered the oral and intravenous contrast material. The lymph node size was evaluated and measured in the short-axis diameter in (mm). We recorded the lymph nodes locations distribution as well as sites (the abdominal Regions from 1-9) and correlated with the nodal size. The study showed that the most common causes of abdomen lymphadenopathy are neoplastic, inflammatory, and infectious processes. The size of the enlarged lymph nodes ranged between ≥6mm and ≥25mm with no significant relation was detected with the CT outcomes. Lymph Node Sites were: Common iliac, Gastroduodenal ligament LNs, Iliac, Inguinal, Internal iliac, Mesenteric, Para aortic, Paracaval, Periaortic, Pericolic , Periportal, Perirectal, Porta hepatis, and Spleen with the highest distribution in mesenteric and para aortic regions. The distribution of the lymph nodes indicate the exact nature of the underlying disease process and CT outcomes significantly at p˂0.000 . By granted the short axis measurement for lymph nodes using MDCT, their use in response assessment will be better associated with clinical radiology practice