Mediastinal lymph nodes demonstrated by mediastinal sonography: activity marker in patients with cystic fibrosis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential diagnostic role of mediastinal sonography in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), we screened the mediastinum of adult CF patients with and without signs of infection and healthy controls.

METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive adult patients with CF and 53 healthy volunteers underwent high-resolution mediastinal sonography. The paratracheal region and aorticopulmonary window of each subject were examined for lymph nodes. Each patient was screened for clinical signs of infection.

RESULTS: Lymph nodes were detectable in the mediastinum of 39 of 50 CF patients (78%); the mean total lymph node volume was 1.5 +/- 1.7 cm3. Lymph nodes were detectable in the mediastinum of 31 of 50 controls (62%); the mean total lymph node volume in this group was 0.3 +/- 0.3 cm3 (p < 0.001). In the 30 CF patients with signs of infection, the mean total lymph node volume was larger (2.0 +/- 1.8 cm3) than in the 20 CF patients without signs of infection (0.7 +/- 0.9 cm3; p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that lymph node volume determination by high-resolution mediastinal sonography may help assess inflammatory activity in patients with CF.