Diagnosis and clinical value of pancreatic cystic and solid diseases by contrast-enhanced ultrasound

Objective To investigate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in diagnosis of pancreatic cystic and solid diseases. Methods Twenty-seven cases of pancreatic cystic and solid diseases were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were examined by CEUS and the resectability of pancreatic tumors was preoperatively assessed. The results were compared with surgical and pathological examination. Results The hypo-enhancement of pancreatic tumors relative to pancreatic parenchyma by CEUS was used as evidence for pancreatic carcinoma, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CEUS were 80.0%(8/10), 88.2%(12/13) and 85.2%(23/27), respectively. The hyper-enhancement or iso-enhancement in the capsule walls and septations by CEUS were used as evidence for pancreatic cystadenoma. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 72.7%(8/11), 92.3%(12/13) and 83.3%(20/24), respectively. Among 14 cases of malignant tumors, 6 cases were to be resectable by CEUS before operation, and 8 cases received radical operations in the end. Conclusion Different pancreatic cystic and solid diseases show different enhancement patterns by CEUS, which may be of value in diagnosis and assessment of the pancreatic cystic and solid diseases before operation.