Abstract
Cystic lesions of the liver may include simple cysts, multiple cysts arising in the setting of polycystic liver disease, parasitic or hydatid (echinococcal) cysts, cystic tumors, and abscesses. Sonography is the diagnostic imaging procedure of choice for hepatic cysts, so knowledge of the sonographic features of the most common types of cystic hepatic lesions should enable an accurate diagnosis to be made directly or in conjunction with clinical and laboratory data. This study of 183 patients was done to identify and evaluate focal hepatic cystic lesions in Sudanese adults using ultrasonography (US) and to determine the diagnostic role of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Most cystic lesions identified were solitary lesions (74.3%). The most common site for lesions was the right lobe of the liver (66.1%). Simple hepatic cysts were seen in 20.2% of patients; the most common type of lesion was hepatic abscess (41.5%). Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease accounted for only 2.2% of lesions. There was a statistical association between focal hepatic cystic lesions and patient age (P < .001). US-guided FNA was done in 48.6% of patients, and these findings were in agreement with sonographic features, with the FNA aspirate color and consistency correlating with lesion histology.