Prevalence of Cystic Lesions in Parenchymal Abdominal Organs

Introduction: Abdominal cystic lesions can be localized either in parenchymal or non-parenchymal organs and can be acquired or congenital. Knowing the characteristic imaging features as well as demographic data and the prevalence of cystic lesions can help radiologists in establishing the correct diagnosis. In this article, we conducted a statistical study of congenital and acquired cystic lesions of the abdomen, diagnosed by CT scan in patients hospitalized in Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Constanţa in years 2019 - 2020.

Material and methods: The retrospective study included 285 patients admitted to the hospital. In the case of each patient, we recorded the following variables: Age, Sex, Localization of the lesion, Types of cysts for each localization.

Results: The average age of the patients is 61.53 years. Most of the cystic lesions were localized in the liver (182 cases) and they were represented by: hydatid cysts, simple hepatic cysts, hepatic abscess, hepato-renal polycystic disease and hepatic adenocarcinoma. Cystic lesions of the kidney (56 cases) were represented by: autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, renal carcinoma, simple renal cysts, acquired polycystic renal disease, tuberous sclerosis, clear cell renal carcinoma and von Hippel Lindau syndrome. Cystic lesions of pancreas (47 cases) were represented by: pancreatic cysts, pancreatic pseudocysts and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Conclusions: CT examination is extremely useful in establishing the location, type, imaging characteristics of cystic lesions, echo over surrounding organs, possibility of malignant transformation. The prevalence of certain types of localizations and morphologies depending on the age and organ involved always helps to obtain a correct and rapid diagnosis.