BACKGROUND The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is generally used to prevent tuberculosis, particularly meningeal and miliary types, in childhood. This vaccine can rarely cause complications of varying severity, ranging from localized disease to a severe diffuse type known as disseminated BCG infection. Imaging modalities play an important role in the evaluation of different complications of disseminated BCG infection. This study aimed to assess and describe the imaging findings of disseminated BCG infection in order to help clinicians diagnose this life-threatening infection more accurately. METHODS This retrospective study was performed on 44 hospitalized children diagnosed with disseminated BCG infection. The results of radiographs, sonography, computerized tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging were compiled in a checklist and were then assessed by a radiology resident and a board-certificated radiologist. The radiological findings from various imaging modalities were presented descriptively and the frequency of different parameters was reported. RESULTS Axillary lymphadenopathy at the vaccinated side was frequent and was often associated with abscesses. However, abscesses in other body regions were uncommon. The most common abdominal imaging findings were enlarged liver and spleen accompanied by multiple hypoechoic and hypodense nodules on ultrasound and CT scans, respectively. Furthermore, diffuse or multifocal pulmonary opacities were the most frequent findings on chest X-rays and CT scans. CONCLUSION Characteristic imaging findings of disseminated BCG infection play a vital role in the early diagnosis of this infection. The study findings demonstrated the importance of radiological imaging in the diagnosis and evaluation of the complications of disseminated BCG infection.

中文翻译：

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播散性卡介苗感染：影像学在并发症评估中的作用。

背景卡介苗(BCG)疫苗通常用于预防儿童结核病，特别是脑膜结核和粟粒型结核。这种疫苗很少会引起不同严重程度的并发症，从局部疾病到严重的弥漫型（称为播散性卡介苗感染）。成像方式在评估播散性卡介苗感染的不同并发症中发挥着重要作用。本研究旨在评估和描述播散性卡介苗感染的影像学表现，以帮助临床医生更准确地诊断这种危及生命的感染。方法 这项回顾性研究对 44 名诊断为播散性卡介苗感染的住院儿童进行。X 线照片、超声检查、计算机断层扫描 (CT) 扫描和磁共振成像的结果汇总在检查表中，然后由放射科住院医师和委员会认证的放射科医生进行评估。描述性地呈现了各种成像方式的放射学结果，并报告了不同参数的频率。结果 接种侧腋窝淋巴结肿大常见，且常伴有脓肿。然而，身体其他部位的脓肿并不常见。最常见的腹部影像学表现是肝脏和脾脏肿大，超声和 CT 扫描分别伴有多个低回声和低密度结节。此外，弥漫性或多灶性肺部混浊是胸部 X 光和 CT 扫描最常见的发现。结论 播散性卡介苗感染的特征性影像学表现对该感染的早期诊断具有重要作用。研究结果证明了放射成像在诊断和评估播散性卡介苗感染并发症中的重要性。