ECHOGENICITY OF EXPERIMENTAL LIVER ETHANOL INJECTIONS

Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy under sonographic guidance suff ers from the occasional adverse spread of ethanol. We tried to optimiz e the technique to obtain the maximal echogenicity of injections. Eigh t dead pig livers were injected with ethanol and the consequent echoge nicity was correlated with the time lapse after the injection, the spe ed of injection, the injected dose and the concentration of ethanol. F or the sake of comparison, ethanol was also injected into processed so ur milk. The injected lesions became smaller (P < 0.001), less sharply demarcated and less echogenic (P < 0.001) with time. Speeding up the injection (P < 0.05) and concentrating the ethanol (P < 0.05) increase d echogenicity, whereas enlarging the dosage did not. Injections of et hanol into processed sour milk induced hyperechoic zones similar to th e liver injections. It is concluded that quick injections of concentra ted ethanol would be best detected. Injections should be monitored whi le they are still taking place, because the echogenicity will soon dec rease. This immediate echogenicity seems to be caused by flow and the inherent properties of ethanol.