Application of two-dimensional and three-dimensional contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in diagnosis of benign and malignant abdominal lesions

Objective To evaluate the role of two-dimensional and three-dimensional contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (3D-CEUS) in the diagnosis of intra-abdominal lesions.Methods Totally 137 cases of abdominal lesions were identified by routine ultrasound examinations and were confirmed by pathology or CT.They were classified into two groups including a group of benign lesions with75 cases and a groupof malignant lesions with 62 cases.The ultrasound contrast agent was SonoVue.Each subject firstly had two-dimensional contrast-enhanced ultrasonography(2D-CEUS) and time-intensity curve plotting.The arrival time (AT),time to peak (TTP),peak intensity (PI),enhanced intensity (EI) and infusion time (IT) for the contrast agent were recorded.The regions of interest were selected.Using the same contrast agent,those regions were examined,processed and analysed with3D-CEUS.The sensitivity,specificity,and predicted accuracy by 3D-CEUS in the diagnosis of malignant lesions were calculated with the characteristic scores.Results Based on the 2D-CEUS timeintensity curves,the difference of AT,TTP,PI,EI and ITbetween malignant lesions and control tissue were statistically significant (P0.01),whereas such difference between benign lesions and control tissue was not statistically significant (P0.05).3D-CEUS showed the stereoscopic images of the lesions,structure and vessels of tumor,which were more visualized than those by2D-CEUS.The sensitivity,specificity and predicted accuracy by 3D-CEUS in the diagnosis of malignant tumor were 93.5%,94.7% and 93.5%,respectively.Conclusion The 3D-CEUS can be used as the supplementary diagnostic means to2D-CEUS.The combination of the two methods can further improve the quality of ultrasound images and provide more comprehensive evidence for diagnosis of benign and malignant abdominal lesions.