The Role of Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Small Focal Liver Lesions

Purpose: As the technology advanced, smaller liver lesions(≤2 cm) could be detected with ultrasound, especially when contrast-enhanced ultrasound was used. Materials and Methods: 205 focal liver lesions (FLLs) were diagnosed with contrast-enhanced and conventional ultrasound. The final diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy, contrast-enhanced CT or MRI, laboratory examinations and 10 to 30 months follow up. Results: There were 65 malignant tumors and 140 benign FLLs. Compare to the pathological diagnosis,the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CEUS were 85.0%, 90.5% and 88.5%, higher than that of conventional ultrasound (40.0%, 47.6% and 42.6%, respectively). The most outstanding sign of malignancy was a hyper-enhancement at arterial phase with hypo-enhancement at portal and later phase after contrast agent injection. Conclusion:Real-time CEUS is an effective imaging modality in diagnosis of small focal liver lesions (≤2 cm).