Standards of the Polish Ultrasound Society – update. Spleen examination

Ultrasound scan of the spleen is an integral part of the overall abdominal examination. Due to its anatomical position, physical examination of the spleen is frequently supplemented with an ultrasound which plays a special role in the differential diagnostics of splenic diseases and facilitates the determination of further diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Similarly to other types of ultrasound scans, the examiner should be familiar with all significant clinical information as well as results of examinations and tests conducted so far. This enables to narrow the scope of search for etiological factors and indicate specific disease entities in the findings as well as allows for accurate assessment of coexistent pathologies. The article presents the standards of the Polish Ultrasound Society concerning the apparatus, preparation for the examination, technique and description of the findings. The authors discuss the normal anatomy of the spleen and the most common pathologies ranging from splenomegaly to splenic traumas. The indications for the contrast-enhanced ultrasound and characteristic patterns of enhancement of individual focal lesions are presented. This article is supplemented with photographic documentation, which provides images of the discussed lesions. The ultrasound examination, if carried out in compliance with current standards, allows for accurate interpretation of detected changes. This article has been prepared on the basis of the Ultrasound Examination Standards of the Polish Ultrasound Society (2011) and updated with the current knowledge.