Usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in daily clinical practice: a multicenter study in Spain

• Published in: Radiología Vol. 52; no. 2; p. 144
• Main Authors: Nicolau Molina, C, Fontanilla Echeveste, T, Del Cura Rodríguez, J L, Cruz Villalón, F, Ripollés González, T, Baudet Naveros, B, Velasco Marcos, M A J, Garre Sánchez, C, Huertas Arroyo, R, Hernández García, L, Pitti Reyes, S J, Gómez Rodríguez, R A, Calvo López, M A J, Maroto Genover, A, Alvarez Bustos, G, Poch Zatarain, M, Talegón Meléndez, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 01.03.2010
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Contrast Media; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Phospholipids; Polysaccharides - therapeutic use; Prospective Studies; Spain; Sulfur Hexafluoride; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color - methods; Young Adult; Spain
• ISSN: 0033-8338
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rx.2009.11.005

We aimed to determine whether the use of ultrasonographic contrast agents improves the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography (US). We carried out a prospective multicenter study in 42 hospitals. We included 1786 patients with inconclusive US; 84.9% of the inconclusive studies were abdominal US (including studies of the liver, kidneys, spleen, and other sites), 6.2% were studies of the peripheral vessels, 4.3% were breast studies, and 4.6% were other studies. We evaluated the type of contrast-enhanced US (color Doppler or contrast-specific method), type of contrast agent, dose and number of doses, and type of administration (bolus or infusion). We evaluated whether the findings at contrast-enhanced US improved the diagnostic performance of unenhanced US and whether they enabled a conclusive diagnosis to be reached. The contrast agent SonoVue was used in 99.9% of the studies; a single dose of contrast agent was used in 84.8%, and the contrast agent was administered in bolus in 98.5%. Contrast-enhanced US improved the diagnostic performance in 91.6% of cases and enabled the conclusive diagnosis in 69.2%. The best diagnostic performance was obtained in the supraaortic trunks, where a definitive diagnosis was reached in 95.4% of cases, followed by the abdominal area, with a conclusive diagnosis in 72.6% of cases. The use of contrast-enhanced US significantly improved the diagnostic performance of US and enabled a conclusive diagnosis in most cases.