• Nair S G Toledo, Sergio K Kodaira, Paulo C B Massarollo, Osvaldo I Pereira, José Carlos Dalmas, Giovanni Guido Cerri, and Carlos A Buchpiguel.
• Liver Unit, University of São Paulo Medical School, Brazil. tolecosta@hotmail.com
• J Ultrasound Med. 2006 Jan 1;25(1):41-9.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the radiographic and ultrasonographic measurements of craniocaudal displacement of the left hemidiaphragm.MethodsForty-nine patients with clinical indications for interventional procedures prospectively underwent radiographic evaluation of left hemidiaphragmatic mobility and B-mode ultrasonographic measurement of craniocaudal displacement of the hilum and the inferior pole of the spleen. Ultrasonography was performed with a 3.5-MHz convex transducer in a left intercostal position under a longitudinal orientation. Statistical analyses were performed with linear regression, a paired Student t test, and Bland-Altman analyses.ResultsThe correlation between the craniocaudal splenic hilum displacement and radiographic measurements was found to be linear: hemidiaphragmatic mobility = 17.795 + 0.429 x splenic hilum displacement (SE for the regression coefficient = 0 .12; P = .0012), although the values obtained with both methods were statistically different (P < .05). The same results could be observed with the use of the inferior pole of the spleen: hemidiaphragmatic mobility = 9.5596 + 0.5455 x inferior polo displacement (SE for the regression coefficient = 0 .11; P < .0001). The mean difference between the values obtained by ultrasonography and by radiography was statistically significant (16.7 +/- 16.1 mm; P < .05 [hilum]; 18.9 +/- 14.2 mm; P < .05 [inferior pole]).ConclusionsThese results allow us to conclude that ultrasonography can be used as an alternative method for left hemidiaphragm mobility evaluation compared with radiography.

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