Diagnostic Performance of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography for the Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Superficial Lymph Nodes: A Meta‐analysis

• Published in: Journal of ultrasound in medicine Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 213 - 222
• Main Authors: Li, Jun, Chen, Ming, Cao, Chun‐li, Zhou, Li‐Qiang, Li, Shu‐Gang, Ge, Zong‐Kai, Zhang, Wei‐Hong, Xu, Jian‐Wei, Cui, Xin‐Wu, Dietrich, Christoph F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.02.2020
• Subjects: acoustic radiation force impulse; elastography; lymph node; ultrasound; Virtual Touch tissue imaging quantification; elastography; Virtual Touch tissue imaging quantification; lymph node; ultrasound; acoustic radiation force impulse
• ISSN: 0278-4297; 1550-9613; 1550-9613
• DOI: 10.1002/jum.15096

To estimate the diagnostic performance of acoustic radiation force impulse elastography in distinguishing between benign and malignant superficial lymph nodes, relevant articles published before October 31, 2018, in China and other countries were used. Conclusively, a total of 18 articles were analyzed. Sixteen studies used Virtual Touch tissue quantification (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany), and 4 studies used Virtual Touch tissue imaging (Siemens Healthineers). After a meta‐analysis, it was found that acoustic radiation force impulse elastography is an efficient method for detecting superficial lymph nodes. In addition, if the cutoff value for the shear wave velocity were less than 2.85 m/s, the summary sensitivity would increase, and the heterogeneity would be reduced.