{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33037"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33037","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The utility of abdominal ultrasound in the diagnosis of paediatric abdominal tuberculosis: a single centre review","abstract":"Background: Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease worldwide, with an increased propensity for severe, disseminated disease in settings with a high burden of concomitant HIV infection. Ultrasound is commonly used in diagnosing abdominal TB, however the indications for its use are unclear and often vary amongst clinicians. Objective: In this study, we describe the findings of ultrasound examinations performed for suspected abdominal TB at a tertiary children's hospital and examine the variability in reporting patterns amongst radiologists performing these imaging investigations. Materials and methods: Ultrasound studies performed for “suspected abdominal TB” between 01 January 2013 – 31 December 2018 were reviewed. In studies reported as suggestive of abdominal TB, evidence of microbiologically confirmed disease was sought. Subsequently, a selection of images from these studies were independently reviewed by three paediatric radiologists to determine their level of agreement when interpreting imaging findings. Results: During the study period 1093 studies were performed for suspected abdominal TB, of which 166 (15%) had abnormal features suggestive of TB. Forty-seven percent of these patients (78/166) had microbiologically confirmed disease. The commonest reported features were lymphadenopathy, 77% (128/166) and splenic microabscesses, 55% (92/166) for which substantial inter-reader agreement was documented, Fleiss' kappa = 0.64 and 0.66 respectively. There was moderate inter-reader agreement in the diagnosis of abdominal TB among radiologists (Fleiss' kappa=0.47). Conclusion: Caution is advised when basing clinical decisions on ultrasound studies performed for suspected abdominal TB, as imaging features are non-specific and there is considerable variability in interpretation of studies among reporting radiologists.","abstract_html":"Background: Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease worldwide, with an increased propensity for severe, disseminated disease in settings with a high burden of concomitant HIV infection. Ultrasound is commonly used in diagnosing abdominal TB, however the indications for its use are unclear and often vary amongst clinicians. Objective: In this study, we describe the findings of ultrasound examinations performed for suspected abdominal TB at a tertiary children's hospital and examine the variability in reporting patterns amongst radiologists performing these imaging investigations. Materials and methods: Ultrasound studies performed for “suspected abdominal TB” between 01 January 2013 – 31 December 2018 were reviewed. In studies reported as suggestive of abdominal TB, evidence of microbiologically confirmed disease was sought. Subsequently, a selection of images from these studies were independently reviewed by three paediatric radiologists to determine their level of agreement when interpreting imaging findings. Results: During the study period 1093 studies were performed for suspected abdominal TB, of which 166 (15%) had abnormal features suggestive of TB. Forty-seven percent of these patients (78/166) had microbiologically confirmed disease. The commonest reported features were lymphadenopathy, 77% (128/166) and splenic microabscesses, 55% (92/166) for which substantial inter-reader agreement was documented, Fleiss' kappa = 0.64 and 0.66 respectively. There was moderate inter-reader agreement in the diagnosis of abdominal TB among radiologists (Fleiss' kappa=0.47). Conclusion: Caution is advised when basing clinical decisions on ultrasound studies performed for suspected abdominal TB, as imaging features are non-specific and there is considerable variability in interpretation of studies among reporting radiologists.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sood, Vishesh"],"institution":"Division of Radiology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Kilborn, Tracy","Eley, Brian"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020","date_published":"2020","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:04Z","subjects":["Radiodiagnosis"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33037","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Kilborn, Tracy","Eley, Brian"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sood, Vishesh"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-03-01T18:46:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-03-01T18:46:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Division of Radiology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters","MMed"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Radiodiagnosis"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33037"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Background: Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease worldwide, with an increased propensity for severe, disseminated disease in settings with a high burden of concomitant HIV infection. Ultrasound is commonly used in diagnosing abdominal TB, however the indications for its use are unclear and often vary amongst clinicians. Objective: In this study, we describe the findings of ultrasound examinations performed for suspected abdominal TB at a tertiary children's hospital and examine the variability in reporting patterns amongst radiologists performing these imaging investigations. Materials and methods: Ultrasound studies performed for “suspected abdominal TB” between 01 January 2013 – 31 December 2018 were reviewed. In studies reported as suggestive of abdominal TB, evidence of microbiologically confirmed disease was sought. Subsequently, a selection of images from these studies were independently reviewed by three paediatric radiologists to determine their level of agreement when interpreting imaging findings. Results: During the study period 1093 studies were performed for suspected abdominal TB, of which 166 (15%) had abnormal features suggestive of TB. Forty-seven percent of these patients (78/166) had microbiologically confirmed disease. The commonest reported features were lymphadenopathy, 77% (128/166) and splenic microabscesses, 55% (92/166) for which substantial inter-reader agreement was documented, Fleiss' kappa = 0.64 and 0.66 respectively. There was moderate inter-reader agreement in the diagnosis of abdominal TB among radiologists (Fleiss' kappa=0.47). Conclusion: Caution is advised when basing clinical decisions on ultrasound studies performed for suspected abdominal TB, as imaging features are non-specific and there is considerable variability in interpretation of studies among reporting radiologists."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The utility of abdominal ultrasound in the diagnosis of paediatric abdominal tuberculosis: a single centre review"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Kilborn, Tracy","Eley, Brian"],"dc:creator":["Sood, Vishesh"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-03-01T18:46:21Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-03-01T18:46:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020"],"dc:description.abstract":["Background: Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is a common disease worldwide, with an increased propensity for severe, disseminated disease in settings with a high burden of concomitant HIV infection. Ultrasound is commonly used in diagnosing abdominal TB, however the indications for its use are unclear and often vary amongst clinicians. Objective: In this study, we describe the findings of ultrasound examinations performed for suspected abdominal TB at a tertiary children's hospital and examine the variability in reporting patterns amongst radiologists performing these imaging investigations. Materials and methods: Ultrasound studies performed for “suspected abdominal TB” between 01 January 2013 – 31 December 2018 were reviewed. In studies reported as suggestive of abdominal TB, evidence of microbiologically confirmed disease was sought. Subsequently, a selection of images from these studies were independently reviewed by three paediatric radiologists to determine their level of agreement when interpreting imaging findings. Results: During the study period 1093 studies were performed for suspected abdominal TB, of which 166 (15%) had abnormal features suggestive of TB. Forty-seven percent of these patients (78/166) had microbiologically confirmed disease. The commonest reported features were lymphadenopathy, 77% (128/166) and splenic microabscesses, 55% (92/166) for which substantial inter-reader agreement was documented, Fleiss' kappa = 0.64 and 0.66 respectively. There was moderate inter-reader agreement in the diagnosis of abdominal TB among radiologists (Fleiss' kappa=0.47). Conclusion: Caution is advised when basing clinical decisions on ultrasound studies performed for suspected abdominal TB, as imaging features are non-specific and there is considerable variability in interpretation of studies among reporting radiologists."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33037"],"dc:publisher.department":["Division of Radiology"],"dc:subject":["Radiodiagnosis"],"dc:title":["The utility of abdominal ultrasound in the diagnosis of paediatric abdominal tuberculosis: a single centre review"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters","MMed"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:04Z"}