Ultrasound features of primary intestinal lymphoma in children and their correlation with prognosis: A two-center experiment.

BACKGROUND: Childhood intestinal lymphoma is characterized by its insidious onset and the absence of specific clinical symptoms. The thinner abdominal wall in children significantly aids in the ultrasound visualization of the abdominal cavity and intestines. Although many typical cases of intestinal lymphoma can be diagnosed through ultrasound, physicians often either overlook these values or assume that ultrasound has limited diagnostic value for intestinal lymphoma. AIM: To clarify the diagnosis of intestinal lymphoma and classify its severity using ultrasound, as well as to correlate this with prognosis. METHODS: The correlation between ultrasound diagnostic outcomes, laboratory indicators, and clinical prognosis was analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of ultrasound in assessing the severity of intestinal lymphoma and to provide new evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in children. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the sonographic images and case data of 28 children diagnosed with intestinal lymphoma and confirmed by surgical pathology. Additionally, we sought to determine the correlation between ultrasonic classification of lymphoma, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) values, pathological classification, and prognosis. RESULTS: Ultrasound was utilized to categorize 28 cases of intestinal lymphoma into focal segmental (15 cases) and extensive (13 cases) types. Ultrasound classification and LDH levels were significantly correlated with prognosis (P < 0.05), while pathological type, age, gender, and treatment modality showed no significant correlation (P > 0.05). Among ultrasound manifestations, there was a significant difference in LDH levels between the segmental and extensive groups (P < 0.05). The prognosis for children with extensive intestinal lymphoma was poorer than that for children with localized segmental intestinal lymphoma (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ultrasound can be used in the diagnosis and classification of intestinal lymphoma in children. Extensive intestinal lymphoma is associated with significantly elevated LDH and poor prognosis.