经淋巴管超声造影诊断甲状腺癌颈部淋巴结转移的价值

目的 探讨经淋巴管超声造影(CEUS)对甲状腺癌颈部淋巴结转移的诊断价值。方法 对怀疑为甲状腺癌并拟行超声引导下穿刺活检的患者行常规超声检查及经淋巴管CEUS检查,以手术病理结果为金标准,比较颈部淋巴结的超声及CEUS特征在转移组与未转移组之间的差异。结果 20例甲状腺癌中,12例颈部淋巴结转移,8例未转移。经淋巴管CEUS诊断甲状腺癌转移淋巴结的灵敏度(91.7%比75.0%)及准确度(90.0% 比80.0%)均高于常规超声。正常淋巴结经淋巴管CEUS表现为均匀增强,转移淋巴结表现为不均匀增强及无增强。结论 经淋巴管CEUS可有效诊断甲状腺癌颈部转移淋巴结,弥补常规超声的不足。

Value of Trans-lymphatic Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis of Thyroid Cancer

Objective To explore the value of trans-lymphatic contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)in the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer. Methods The patients with suspected thyroid cancer underwent conventional ultrasound and trans-lymphatic CEUS examinations before the biopsy.The differences in ultrasound and CEUS characteristics of cervical lymph nodes between the metastatic group and the non-metastatic group were compared,and pathological results were regarded as the golden standard. Results Twenty patients had thyroid cancer,including 12 cases with lymph node metastasis and 8 cases without metastasis.The diagnostic sensitivity(91.7% vs. 75.0%)and accuracy(90.0% vs.80.0%)of trans-lymphatic CEUS were higher than those of conventional ultrasound.The normal lymph nodes presented homogeneous enhancement,while the metastatic lymph nodes showed heterogeneous or non-enhancement during the trans-lymphatic CEUS examination.Conclusion As a new modality of ultrasound,trans-lymphatic CEUS contributes to the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer and supplements the deficiencies of conventional ultrasound.