Contrast enhanced ultrasonography vs. contrast enhanced computed tomography for the diagnosis of focal lesions of the pancreas

Objective To assess the characterization and usefulness of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to diagnose focal lesions of pancreas in comparison to contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT). Methods 177 cases of focal solid lesions of the pancreas confirmed by pathology were collected. The enhanced patterns and diagnostic capability of CEUS were analyzed, and these results were compared with those of CECT. Results The diagnostic accuracies of ultrasound, CEUS and CECT were 61.6% (109/177), 89.3% (158/177), and 92.1% (163/177), respectively. There was no significant difference between the diagnostic accuracies of CEUS and CECT (P=0.071). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accurate rate for CEUS were 90.9%, 63.6%, 73.8%, 86.2%, 82.5%(the areas under the curve, AUC=0.820), and 89.8%, 69.3%, 76.7%, 85.9%, 84.7% for CECT (AUC=0.847), respectively, when the hypo-enhanced was regarded as the cut value. No significant difference was found between these results from CEUS and CECT(P=0.071). Conclusions The diagnostic ability of CEUS in focal lesions of the pancreas is similar to that of CECT. Key words: Pancreatic diseases; Ultrasonography; Computed tomography, enhanced