US with contrast medium in the diagnosis of abdominal Castleman's disease.

Castleman's disease belongs to a heterogeneous group of rare lymphoproliferative disorders of uncertain cause. A literature review yielded 31 cases of Castleman's disease with an abdominal localization. Retroperitoneal, mesenteric and pelvic sites have been reported and the diagnosis was incidental in almost all cases and detected at US, CT scan or MRI and angiography. If the lymphadenopathy was less than 5 cm, centripetal, homogeneous contrast enhancement was apparent during CT scan or MRI, versus dyshomogeneous enhancement for a lymph node with a diameter above 5 cm. In our case, similar vascular behavior after administration of contrast medium was observed with ultrasound, CT scan or MRI. Further studies with ultrasound contrast media are needed to confirm this particular behavior in order to avoid the use of MRI and CT scans in cases of localized abdominal masses in the future.