[Value of ultrasound tomography in the diagnosis and follow-up of fatty liver].

In a prospective study 187 patients with diffuse fatty infiltration of the liver, estimated by ultrasound tomography, were investigated. In any case the history as well as the results of clinical investigation and the lab findings were known to the observer. Liver blind punctions were performed after a short time, on an average of 11 days. In 91.4% the sonographic diagnosis "fatty infiltration of the liver" could be confirmed by histological findings, while in the other cases the diagnosis was incorrect or incomplete respectively. Following sonographic criterions any results were graduated into three groups and compared with the percentage of fat infiltrated liver cells found by histological investigation. There was a high accuracy in patient with fatty liver: 90.9% could be established by ultrasound tomography. Only in those cases, in which the sonographic diagnosis "fatty infiltration" is not confirmed by case history, clinical and lab findings, the liver biopsy is to be performed.