Hydatid cyst or echinococcosis of liver

Hydatid cyst or echinococcosis of liver
 
 
 

Hydatid cyst or echinococcosis of liver

  a) Cystic lesion- here there is a simple cyst in the affected organ. This appearance is not diagnostic for echinococcosis.
 

Hydatid cyst or echinococcosis of liver

 b) Active cysts- here multiple cysts or septae are present in the parent cyst.
 

Hydatid cyst or echinococcosis of liver

Hydatid cyst or echinococcosis of liver

 
 
 
This middle-aged female patient presented with non-specific abdominal pain. Ultrasound imaging of the liver shows a large cystic lesion with fine debris within it. There are also multiple cysts (daughter cysts) within the main cyst (parent cyst). Color and Power Doppler images of the cyst show few vessels along the rim of the parent cyst. These ultrasound images are diagnostic of Hydatid cyst (echinococcosis) of the liver. the fine debris in the cyst suggest hydatid "sand". WHO (World Health Organization) studies have classified the Cystic Echinococcosis or Hydatid Cyst into the following subtypes, based on their sonographic appearance: 
 
   a) Cystic lesion- here there is a simple cyst in the affected organ. This appearance is not diagnostic for echinococcosis.
 
 b) Active cysts- here multiple cysts or septae are present in the parent cyst.
 
 c) Transitional stage-Daughter cysts may be present in the parent cyst with hydatid sand or debris within the cyst. (The case described here is in the transitional stage).
 
 d) The inactive stage- here the cyst is echogenic and may be partially or completely collapsed on itself.     
 
 
      
Reference: 1) http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/216432-diagnosis
                 2) http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/178648-diagnosis