Presentation
After consumption of larger amounts of alcohol, this patient with neglected type II diabetes was admitted to the ICU with diabetic ketoacidosis.
Patient Data
Note: This case has been tagged as "legacy" as it no longer meets image preparation and/or other case publication guidelines.
In this case, severe diffuse steatosis of the liver is seen. The density of the liver is -9 HU in the selected region. The liver parenchyma appears hypodense compared to the normal intrahepatic vessels.
Case Discussion
Diffuse steatosis of the liver is caused by abnormal accumulation of triglycerides within the hepatocytes, it can have a variety of different etiologies. The most frequent underlying causes are alcohol abuse and obesity. It is also known that along with chemotherapy, many drugs can induce fatty degeneration of the liver.
On ultrasonography, the echogenicity of the liver increases with fat deposition, hence the echogenicity can be compared to that of the kidneys, and spleen. On CT a threshold attenuation of 40 HU is generally used, below which the liver can be considered steatotic.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.