Application of contrast enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions: comparison with MRI and pathology

Abstract

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) by comparison with enhanced MRI. Methods Thirty-two cases with pancreatic cystic lesions confirmed by surgery or biopsy were enrolled. Ultrasound, CEUS and MRI were applied respectively for the diagnosis of 32 cases. The diagnostic ability of different imaging methods were compared according to pathological results as the gold standard. Results The 32 cases include 8 cases of serous cystadenoma, 6 cases of mucinous cystic neoplasm, 3 cases of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, 4 cases of solid pseudopapillary tumor, 3 cases of neuroendocrine tumor, 6 cases of pancreatic carcinoma, 1 case of cyst and 1 case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. The diagnostic accuracies of ultrasound, CEUS and MRI were 46.88% (15/32), 75.00% (24/32) and 78.13% (25/32) respectively. There was no significant difference between the diagnostic accuracies of CEUS and MRI (P=0.768). The diagnostic accuracies of CEUS and MRI were higher than that of ultrasound (P<0.05). Conclusions CEUS has obvious superiority over ultrasound in the diagnostic accuracy of pancreatic cystic lesions. The diagnostic ability of CEUS is similar to that of MRI. Key words: Ultrasonography; Microbubbles; Pancreatic diseases; Cystic lesion; Magnetic resonance imaging