Role of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in differential diagnosis of enlarged neck benign and malignant lymph nodes

Objective To study the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in differential diagnosis of enlarged neck benign and malignant lymph nodes.Methods Sixty patients with 92 enlarged neck lymph nodes admitted to our hospital received routine ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography to observe the distribution of their lymph nodes.The time-intensity curves for benign and malignant lymph nodes were analyzed and compared with those of pathologically-diagnosed benign and malignant lymph nodes.The diagnosis accuracy was compared before and after contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.Results Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography showed intense homogeneous enhancement in 34 out of the 42 benign lymph nodes and non-homogeneous enhancement in 38 out of the 50 malignant lymph nodes.The time-intensity curve for benign lymph nodes displayed a fast-down pattern while the malignant lymph nodes showed a slow-down pattern.Lymph node puncture and postoperative pathology revealed that,of the 92 lymph nodes,42 were benign(45.7%) and 50 were malignant(54.3%).The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of routine ultrasonography and contrastenhanced ultrasonography were 76%,80%,and 78% respectively,and 92%,95% and 93% respectively.Conclusion Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography can provide valuable evidence for the differential diagnosis of enlarged neck benign and malignant lymph nodes.