Ultrasound imaging of abdominal sarcoidosis: State of the art

Table 1 Main ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound findings of abdominal sarcoidosis

	US	CEUS	EUS elastography
Liver	(1) Hepatomegaly; (2) Coarse nodular pattern; (3) Hypoechoic and hypovascular nodules	Variable nodular enhancement and progressive hypoenhancement in the arterial and portal-venous late phases, respectively	Blue hard pattern within and around the single masses that correlate well with the granulomatous tissue at biopsy
Spleen	(1) Organ enlargement; (2) Hypo, iso or hyperechoic, hypovascular nodules	(1) Progressive hypoenhancement in both the arterial and parenchymal phases, with a higher contrast diffusion toward parenchyma in this phase; (2) Other patterns: rim-like, homogeneous, dotted	N/A
Lymph nodes	(1) Lymphadenopathy; (2) Hypoechoic 1-2 cm sized nodules	Progressive homogeneous enhancement, suggesting a benign pattern	Mixed, predominantly green pattern
Pancreas	(1) Focal hypoechoic and hypovascular masses; (2) Pancreatic duct dilatation	Rapid and transitory enhancement followed by progressive hypoenhancement, mimicking a malignant pattern	Both soft and hard tissues, suggesting the co-existence of mixed tissue components
Kidneys	(1) Pseudotumors as hypoechoic and hypovascular masses; (2) Ring-like echogenic pattern	Hypoenhancing lesions	N/A

US: Ultrasound; CEUS: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound; EUS: Endoscopic ultrasound.