Ultrasonographic findings in Schistosoma mekongi infection. A minireview.

Schistosoma (S.) mekongi is causing intestinal and hepatosplenic schistosomiasis in some South East Asian countries located along the Mekong river. Ultrasonography is the point of care method of choice for detecting and staging hepatosplenic morbidity due to schistosomiasis. We review all publications on ultrasound examinations in S. mekongi infected individuals. An extensive data base search revealed only six eligible publications on 1454 patients. Findings included (peri-)portal fibrosis, splenomegaly and signs of portal hypertension. Portal fibrosis was sometimes difficult to differentiate from periductal fibrosis caused by frequent Opistorchis viverrini co-infection (in 3/6 studies). In these cases, color Doppler was helpful in detecting internal blood flow in portal but non in periductal liver fibrosis. On the other hand, interseptal liver fibrosis as [Formula: see text] seen in S. japonicum and echogenic gallbladder wall thickening as frequently seen in S. mansoni infections were not described as features of S. mekongi infections.