Adrenal Ultrasound Considerations

The adrenal gland is an important endocrine organ, wrapped by fat and fascia on the outside, and is located above the kidneys, with the stomach just off to the side, so gastrointestinal gases can have a very strong effect on it. Before the ultrasound examination, the following things should be noted: 1. Fasting is required; 2. When examining the adrenal glands, attention should be paid to the patient’s medical history, i.e., whether there is a history of hypertension, hematuria, cancer, etc., in order to increase the amount of diagnostic information; 3. The adrenal gland morphology is crescent-shaped on the left side, and triangular on the right side, which is very small and not easy to be detected. During the examination, attention should be paid to the observation of morphology, size, and the presence of abnormal masses to give a comprehensive diagnosis; 4. Because some malignant tumors are easily metastasized in the adrenal glands, for example, patients with breast cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, etc. should routinely be prescribed a checklist of adrenal ultrasound as a routine review item when they are under review. If the cause of high blood pressure or persistent high blood pressure cannot be found, an adrenal ultrasound checklist can be issued to check whether there is any problem with the adrenal glands; 5. For small lesions, ultrasound may not be particularly sensitive, but it should not be ignored, and it is suggested that patients should go to do a CT examination again. Because CT is relatively much more sensitive than ultrasound for masses less than 1cm, patients with symptoms should not be spared for further examination. If the examination result is normal, CT may also be normal, but still highly suspicious of a problem, should be given a follow-up process, follow-up time for three months or six months for examination once, and then combined with their clinical symptoms to make a comprehensive judgment. So you should pay attention to your own health condition, do not ignore the subtle symptoms, physical examination is very important.