Ultrasound Examination in the Patient with Ascites

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Abstract
There can be little argument that the availability of noninvasive imaging techniques such as the ultrasound examination, computed tomographic (CT) scanning, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has greatly improved diagnosis and management of patients with liver disease. It has also demonstrated repeatedly the unreliability of clinical diagnoses. Several studies have shown that clinical estimation of liver size may be inaccurate in as many as 50% of examinations (1-3), and clinical diagnosis of ascites incorrect 33% of the time (4-6). Sonography can identify many other relevant features in addition to ascites and liver size. Mass lesions of the liver, spleen, kidneys,