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

Abstract

ObjectivesWe aimed to determine whether the use of ultrasonographic contrast agents improves the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography (US). Material and methodsWe 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 accuracy of unenhanced US and whether they enabled a conclusive diagnosis to be reached. ResultsThe 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 accuracy in 91.6% of cases and enabled a conclusive diagnosis in 69.2%. The best diagnostic accuracy was obtained in the supraaortic vessels, 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. ConclusionsThe use of contrast-enhanced US significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy of US and enabled a conclusive diagnosis in most cases.