AJR:190, June 2008
Douglas C. Rivard, and Lisa H. Lowe
OBJECTIVE A 4.5-month-old boy was found to have hepatomegaly by his primary care pediatrician on a routine well-baby check and was referred for sonography. Innumerable hepatic lesions of varying echogenicity were found in an enlarged liver. Further characterization with multiphase CT, followed by contrast-enhanced MRI, showed innumerable hepatic masses of varying size with heterogeneous enhancement. The objective of this article is to discuss appropriate evaluation of multiple hepatic masses in infants and describe the major disease entities that are considered in the differential diagnosis.
CONCLUSION Hepatic lesions in infants frequently are evaluated with multiple imaging techniques in an attempt to identify imaging findings that would suggest a specific diagnosis. Although various imaging features may suggest a particular pathologic diagnosis, correlation with patient's age and laboratory markers often is the most helpful factor in infants to suggest a particular disease process and formulate a management plan.