Radiology, Vol 142, 95-102, Copyright © 1982 by Radiological Society of North America
High-resolution ultrasound evaluation of experimental brain abscess evolution: comparison with computed tomography and neuropathology
DR Enzmann, RH Britt, B Lyons, B Carroll, DA Wilson and J Buxton
Computed tomographic (CT) and high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) imaging of
experimental brain abscess were correlated with neuropathologic findings in
nine mongrel dogs. The HRUS scan was more sensitive to different histologic
features than the CT scan but both accurately delineated the evolution of
the experimental brain abscess. All stages of abscess evolution were
characterized by an appearance of an echogenic rim with a hypoechoic
center. In the early stages the echogenicity of the abscess was related
primarily to marked cellular infiltration, while in the late stages
extensive collagen deposition correlated closely with the echo pattern. The
size of the abscess in the cerebritis stages appeared smaller on the HRUS
scan than on the CT scan because the latter modality detected the extensive
cerebritis around the developing necrotic center whereas the HRUS scan did
not. This discrepancy disappeared in the capsule stages. The HRUS scan
provided a more accurate depiction of the neuropathologic characteristics
of the necrotic than did the CT scan. Healing of the abscess, indicated by
a decrease in size of the hypoechoic center, was accurately detected by the
HRUS scan.
