Role of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Narrative Review

Vollständiger Abstract

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Abstract Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, debilitating inflammatory skin disorder that predominantly affects the axillae, anogenital, and inguinal regions in the form of recurrent painful, suppurative abscesses, nodules, and fistulae. The major challenge in the management of HS lies not only in the difficulty of early diagnosis but also in the initial treatment decisions, which heavily rely on the stage of the disease. Multiple studies in the literature have concluded that clinical examination significantly underestimates the severity of HS, thus impacting treatment choices and the course of the disease. Ultrasonography (USG) is becoming a valuable aid in assessing disease extent and guiding treatment decisions in HS. For this review, the PubMed database was searched using ‘USG,’ ‘ultrasound,’ ‘ultrasonography,’ and ‘hidradenitis suppurativa’ as the keywords in the title with no date limits. The utility of USG in HS reported in the literature was evaluated by reviewing each abstract. The current review emphasizes the emerging usefulness of USG in HS, both in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.