"Sponge pattern" of the spleen: a rarely described high-frequency ultrasound pattern in HIV-positive patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The spleen is frequently scanned in workup of infections. Hypoechoic splenic micro-abscesses are known signs of disseminated tuberculosis in HIV co-infected patients. The spleen of HIV patients is thus often scanned using high-frequency transducers.

Methods and findings

We describe a reticulo-nodular "sponge pattern" in the spleen of an HIV-positive patient with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Disseminated throughout the spleen, very small (1.5-2.0 mm) hypoechoic lesions having a branching reticulo-nodular distribution were seen. The lesions partly, but not entirely, follow splenic vasculature. Review of stored images of other patients identified 15 more cases showing a similar pattern. All patients were HIV positive, almost all with CD4 counts below 200 cells/mm³.

SUBMITTER: Heller T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9898479 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature