2020 Issue №4

Measuring spleen stiffness is an insufficiently described diagnostic meth­od, although it allows to diagnose some of internal diseases. The purpose of the paper is to study the influence of various factors on the obtained values of spleen stiffness. The authors gave an overview of the relevant publications in the RSCI and PubMed databases and well-acknowledged textbooks. Spleen elastometry is not described in current clinical guidelines, so the authors of publications rely on their own research methods and get different results. The authors provide a systematization of the research methodology, the values of stiffness for the norm and in the conditions of various diseases. Factors affect­ing the results of stiffness measurement in healthy volunteers (the patient's position, food intake, respiratory phase, number of measurements) were iden­tified, which resulted in mean values of spleen stiffness. It was found that spleen stiffness does not depend on gender, height, body weight, and body mass index. The study reveals a range of diseases in which the spleen stiffness is significantly higher than normal values, and it includes liver cirrhosis, por­tal hypertension, esophageal varicose veins Grade III and portal vein obstruc­tion. A discussion to develop a consent opinion on the research methodology and normative values of spleen stiffness will certainly support the further study.

The article provides an overview of domestic and foreign interdisciplinary studies of post-traumatic splenosis. Furthermore, we focused on the develop­ment of splenosis of various localization and the possibility of radiation imag­ing diagnostics. The authors analyzed a differential diagnosis with a primary or secondary tumour process and reviewed patient management tactics as well as potential complications. The study described a case of splenosis 14 years af­ter splenectomy due to spleen rupture with blunt abdominal trauma at the age of 7. A comprehensive examination of the patient with the methods of radia­tion imaging and laboratory diagnostics is presented. In the study, the au­thors identified 4 lesions of splenosis. A new lesion in the pelvis emerged after 8 years. The ultrasonic characteristics of the identified lesions are described. The article discusses the therapy strategy for a patient who is planning a pregnancy.