ENDOSCOPIC ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOS IS OF MEDIASTINAL HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA AND NON-HODGKIN-LYMPHOMA

Aim: The applicability of ultrasound for diagnosing mediastinal diseas es is limited by the surrounding thorax containing air and bone, permi tting only restricted echo windows. Transoesophageal endoscopic ultras ound circumvents this problem and provides good visualisation of nearl y all parts of the mediastinum. We evaluated the Value of endoscopic u ltrasonography for mediastinal staging of Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin ly mphoma patients. Patients and Methods: From August 1994 to July 1995 3 6 Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients underwent clinical stagi ng and were endosonographically examined for mediastinal involvement. CT in the spiral technique was used as the reference. Results: In asse ssing mediastinal involvement, endoscopic ultrasound revealed a sensit ivity of 96% and a specificity of 75%. There were limitations in the r ight paratracheal region and the area lateral to the aortic arch. Conc lusion: Endoscopic ultrasound is a highly valuable imaging procedure f or diagnosing mediastinal spread of malignant lymphomas and has intere sting potentials in assessing the clinical course during therapy.