Ultrasonography was used to evaluate spleen size in patients with vari- ous clinical conditions including those of the liver, blood, collagen, or autoimmune disease. To express spleen size, a spleen index (SI), the product of the transverse diameter and its perpendicular diameter measured on the maximum cross-sectional image of the spleen, was used. SI correlated well with the volumes of resected spleens. Splenomegaly was present in high percentages of patients with liver, blood, collagen, and autoimmune disease, even though a majority of these spleens were not large enough to palpate. By grading the SI, characteristic distributions of SI were obtained for patients with different types of diseases. Obtaining and grading the SI by the use of ultrasound appears to be a significant supplemental aid for evaluating spleen size, especially in patients whose spleens are not palpable. Indexing Words: Spleen size
In a variety of clinical entities, the spleen enlarges most often due to reactive proliferation of lymphocytes or reticuloendothelial cells. Splenomegaly is also present in malignancies of the hematopoietic system or conditions related to portal hypertension.' Splenomegaly is thus an important clinical sign for diagnosing and evaluating such diseases or conditions. However, determination of spleen size, especially of unpalpable spleens, based on percussion is not always accurate. Therefore, "splenomegaly" in reports of clinical studies often represents only palpable spleens, and the accuracy of such a diagnosis in each disease is often unknown. Even though pathological study can confirm spleen sizes, it cannot be applied to every patient or to patients in acute distress.
Recent advances in ultrasonography have made possible the assessment of unpalpable spleens. Numerous reports have demonstrated that the measurement of spleen size by ultrasound correlates well with the size of resected From the First