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Endoluminal ultrasonography with small-caliber and high-frequency transducer is suitable for transcanal assessment of middle ear with effusion. An endoluminal ultrasound transducer (size 6 French, 20 MHz) with a side-viewing scanning plane was used to image 12 ears of six children suspected of having effusion in the middle ear. Sonographic findings were compatible with those of operation in 10 diseased ears. One false-negative result was obtained, and one trial was aborted owing to trauma to the canal wall. The present study proves utility in demonstrating fluid behind the tympanic membrane. A promising use of endoluminal ultrasonography for middle ear evaluation might be expected if some modification could be made to the transducer.

Varying results have been reported concerning the echogenicity of normal superficial tendons. Our recent results using high-resolution real-time linear-array equipment indicate that the normal tendons display a specific echogenic longitudinally oriented fibrillar pattern. However, the visualization of this normal texture requires a perfect technique of examination. The obliquity of the ultrasound beams in relation to the tendon in longitudinal scans as well as the nonrespect of the strict perpendicularity of the scanning plane in transverse sections result in an artifactual hypoechogenicity of the normal tendon. Since hypoechogenicity has been shown a diagnostic criterion for inflammatory changes in tendons, the awareness of this pitfall is instrumental in preventing a false-positive diagnosis of tendinitis.