局灶性肝脏病变在基础灰阶超声中的回声会影响对比增强超声的诊断吗？

本研究的目的是评价基础灰阶超声中局灶性肝脏病变的回声是否会影响对比增强超声对小的局灶性肝脏病变的诊断价值。388例病人行实时对比增强超声检查,应用六氟化硫超声微泡对比剂。2位医师用双盲法独立对114例高回声病变、30例等回声病变和244例低回声病变的声像图进行回顾分析。采用5点评分法鉴别病变的良恶性,并做出定性诊断。诊断效能采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线进行分析。结果显示,应用ROC曲线下面积（Az）来评估对比增强超声检查对高回声病变的诊断效能,     

超声及磁共振血管造影诊断腹腔动脉硬化闭塞症的受试者操作特性分析

目的:使用受试者操作特性曲线(ROC)比较并评价超声与磁共振血管造影对腹腔动脉硬化闭塞症的诊断价值。方法:41例患者同日分别进行超声及磁共振血管造影检查,与数字减影血管造影检查(DSA)和/或手术相对照。结果:腹腔段超声诊断血管闭塞、狭窄(>50%)的Az值分别为0.979 6、0.938 6;磁共振血管造影诊断血管闭塞、狭窄(>50%)的Az值分别为0.965 4、0.995 5。结论:超声与磁共振血管造影诊断腹腔动脉硬化闭塞症均高度准确,可首选超声检查。     

海岛地区乳腺浸润性导管癌超声造影声像图特点分析

目的分析海岛地区乳腺浸润性导管癌（IDC）超声造影前后的声像图特征，提高超声对海岛地区IDC的诊断价值。方法术前对32例乳腺病灶行超声造影观察，分析其二维图像特征、能量多普勒血流形态及造影增强特点，同时应用ACQ分析软件进行时间．强度曲线分析。结果32例超声造影病灶中无造影剂信号进入的7例，其余25例病灶造影剂的明显增强时间及达峰时间比周围组织早，峰值强度及曲线下面积较周围正常组织高。结论超声可成为诊断海岛地区IDC的有效影像学方法之一，结合超声造影可提高超声对IDC的诊断价值。     

ROC曲线法评价MDCT阴性法胰胆管成像在疑诊胆道梗阻中的应用

目的应用ROC曲线法探讨MDCT阴性法胰胆管成像在临床疑诊胆道梗阻中的诊断价值。方法30例患者行MDCT动、静脉双期增强扫描,利用静脉期原始数据进行多平面重建、容积再现以及最低密度成像重建。由2位资深医师双盲法读片,使用SPSS11.5进行ROC曲线分析,阅片者间差异性评价采用Kappa一致性检验。结果2位阅片医师对MDCT阴性法胰胆管成像检查的ROC曲线下的面积AZ值分别为00.968、0.962,均>0.9,表明其诊断价值较高。2位阅片医师间诊断结果的一致性检验相当满意(K=0.865)。结论MDCT阴性法胰胆管成像检查可以作为临床疑诊胆道梗阻性疾病的常规检查方法。     

超声对胃肠道穿孔及穿孔部位声像图的临床研究

目的:检测胃肠道穿孔超声直接声像图特征,探讨胃肠道穿孔的超声诊断及其定位的新方法。方法:对64例临床拟诊消化道穿孔病例先行放射影像学常规检查和常规超声检查,再由经验丰富的医生行胃肠道超声检查,观察胃肠穿孔超声间接声像图和直接声像图,并与手术结果对照。结果:临床确诊的64例胃肠道穿孔,其中57例超声检测到直接征象,显示率89%(57/64),57例中检测到穿孔起源部位声像图46例,显示率71%(46/64)。且有37例X线平片常规检查发现直接声像,显示率58%(37/64)。结论:超声检查胃肠道穿孔能显示穿孔的直接声像图及起源部位声像图,从而明确穿孔及穿孔部位,其敏感性高于X线,超声胃肠检查应作为临床诊断胃肠道穿孔的常规检查方法。     

前列腺影像报告和数据系统第一版和第二版诊断前列腺癌的效能比较

目的评估两位阅片者运用前列腺影像报告和数据系统第一版(PI-RADS v1)与第二版(PI-RADS v2)进行诊断评分的一致性,同时探讨PI-RADS v1与PI-RADS v2检出临床显著前列腺癌(csPCa)的效能差异。方法回顾性分析我院2015年1月～2018年4月行前列腺多参数MRI(Mp-MRI)检查患者的影像、病理及临床资料。由两名影像科医师分别运用基于PI-RADS v1和PI-RADS v2的两种5分制评分方案对图像进行视觉评估。运用Cohen′s Kappa检验对两位医师评分结果的一致性进行评估。运用受试者工作特性(ROC)曲线评估两个版本对外周带及移形带csPCa的诊断效能,并运用Z检验判断PI-RADS v1和PI-RADS v2的曲线下面积(AUC)有无差异。结果最终纳入169例患者。一致性评估结果显示两名医师运用PI-RADS v1与PI-RADS v2均具有较好的一致性,Kappa系数分别为0.618,0.817。ROC曲线分析结果显示PI-RADS v1和PI-RADS v2检出外周带csPCa的AUC值分别为0.881,0.939,两者间差异有统计学意义;PI-RADS v1和PI-RADS v2检出移行带csPCa的AUC值分别为0.935,0.911,两者间差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论建议在Mp-MRI csPCa的诊断中使用PI-RADS v2。     

复发性流产患者早孕期绒毛膜隆起的声像图特征及临床意义

目的 探讨复发性流产患者早孕期绒毛膜隆起的声像图特征及临床意义。方法 选取并分析我院行早孕期经阴道超声检查的复发性流产(recurrent spontaneous abortion, RSA)患者3 450例，其中早孕合并绒毛膜隆起(chorionic bumps, CB)57例作为观察组，并追踪妊娠结局；随机选取早孕且未合并CB的RSA患者154例作为对照组；分析RSA患者CB的声像图特征，如回声、数量、大小等对妊娠结局的影响及CB的转归。结果 观察组57例中胚胎停育32例(56.1%),与对照组胚胎停育25例(16.2%)相比，差异有统计学意义(P<0.001)。观察组中按CB数量分为单发和多发2个亚组，胚胎停育发生率分别为47.6%、80.0%,两组间差异有统计学意义(P=0.030)。通过绘制ROC曲线显示CB最大直径与妊娠囊最大直径比值评估胚胎停育的临界值为38.5%,ROC曲线下面积为0.722;CB体积与妊娠囊体积比值评估胚胎停育的临界值为12.0%,ROC曲线下面积为0.724。25例宫内活胎合并CB全部于13⁺⁶周前消失。结论早孕期超声诊断...     

经阴道三维能量多普勒超声联合宫腔声学造影评估子宫内膜息肉的临床分析

目的 分析经阴道三维能量多普勒超声联合宫腔声学造影在子宫内膜息肉中的评估价值。方法 选取2020年12月-2021年12月收治的50例疑似子宫内膜息肉患者,纳入患者均经宫腔镜病理活检、阴道三维能量多普勒超声与宫腔声学造影检查,分析阴道三维能量多普勒超声联合宫腔声学造影检查与金标准的一致性。结果 纳入患者经宫腔镜病理活检结果显示,子宫内膜息肉检出率90.00%;特异度60.00%,灵敏度88.89%,准确度86.00%,宫腔声学造影Kappa值为0.386。与子宫黏膜下肌瘤患者相比,子宫内膜息肉患者血流指数(VI)、血管形成血流指数(VFI)、血管形成指数(VI)值均较低(P<0.05)。经绘制ROC曲线,并将经阴道三维能量多普勒超声各参数值的最佳阈值作为截点,当各指标参数值>最佳阈值时即视为阳性,经阴道三维能量多普勒超声参数诊断特异度40.00%,灵敏度88.89%,准确度84.00%,阴道三维能量多普勒超声Kappa=0.390。联合检查中一项为阳性即视为联合诊断阳性,联合检查特异度80.00%,灵敏度97.78%,准确度96.00%,联合诊断Kappa=0.811。结论...     

肝包虫病的超声声像图特征及其诊断价值

目的:探讨肝包虫病的超声声像图特征及其诊断价值.材料和方法:回顾性分析经手术及病理证实的80例肝包虫病的声像图特征.结果:肝包虫囊肿的声像图分为4种:单发囊肿型7例,多发囊肿型9例,子囊孙囊型12例,囊肿实变型10例.肝泡球蚴病的声像图分为3种:实性肿块型16例,肿块液化型21例,肿块钙化型5例.除2例单发囊肿型声像图缺乏明显的特征(囊底缺少囊砂),术前未能做出明确诊断外,余78例均做出了明确的诊断,诊断符合率97.5%.结论:超声显像对肝包虫病的位置、数目、大小和类型均可做出精确的判断,可作为包虫病的首选检查方法.     

实时超声造影对提高乳腺肿瘤BI-RADS分类准确性的价值

目的探讨超声造影对提高乳腺肿瘤乳腺影像报告和数据系统(BI-RADS)分类准确性的价值。资料与方法收集151个乳腺肿瘤的常规超声及超声造影资料,根据常规超声进行BI-RADS分类;并行超声造影检查,结合病灶造影增强扫描特点重新进行分类,与病理结果进行比较,并比较常规超声BI-RADS分类与结合超声造影的BI-RADS分类对乳腺肿物恶性风险分层的评估能力。结果结合超声造影增强扫描特点后,BI-RADS分类的变化主要发生在3类和4A类,常规超声BI-RADS分类评估诊断敏感度、特异度、准确度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值分别为92.2%、52.1%、72.8%、80.5%、75.7%;结合超声造影图像特点后的BI-RADS分类,其诊断特异度、准确度、阴性预测值分别提高至72.9%、86.8%、83.3%,与常规超声比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。常规超声BI-RADS分类评估ROC曲线下面积为0.802,与结合超声造影后的曲线下面积0.878比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论在常规超声BI-RADS分类的基础上,结合病灶的造影增强模式有助于提高超声BIRADS分类对乳腺肿块恶性风险分层的评估能力。     

Value of contrast-enhanced sonography for the characterization of focal hepatic lesions in patients with diffuse liver disease: receiver operating characteristic analysis

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced agent detection sonographic imaging to characterize focal hepatic lesions in patients with diffuse liver disease in comparison with baseline sonographic images and to determine whether agent detection imaging can reduce the necessity of further diagnostic workup for lesion characterization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Contrast-enhanced sonography using 4 g of Levovist at a concentration of 300 mg/mL was performed on 75 focal hepatic lesions in 75 patients with diffuse liver disease. Interval reviews for both baseline without and with contrast-enhanced sonography were performed independently by two radiologists. They were requested to determine the malignity of focal hepatic lesions using a 5-point confidence level and to record the specific diagnoses and the necessity for further imaging for lesion characterization. Radiologists' performances for lesion differentiation using baseline and contrast-enhanced sonography were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Interobserver agreement was also analyzed. RESULTS: When contrast-enhanced sonography was used, ROC analysis revealed a significant improvement for both reviewers (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [A(z)] = 0.753 and 0.830 and 0.971 and 0.974 at baseline sonography and contrast-enhanced sonography, respectively; p < 0.002) for differentiating malignant and benign focal liver lesions. Contrast-enhanced sonography also improved specificity from 12% to 91% for reviewer 1 and from 26% to 85% for reviewer 2 compared with baseline sonography. Furthermore, excellent interobserver agreement was achieved for contrast-enhanced sonography (weighted kappa = 0.919), whereas only good agreement was achieved for baseline sonography (weighted kappa = 0.656). A better result for specific diagnosis was obtained by contrast-enhanced sonography (79% and 75%) than by baseline sonography (37% and 48%, p < 0.05). Contrast-enhanced sonography (72% and 63%) outperformed baseline sonography (35% and 28%, p < 0.05) as a confirmatory imaging technique. CONCLUSION: Contrast-enhanced agent detection sonography can be used to characterize focal hepatic lesions in patients with diffuse liver disease reliably and with a higher diagnostic confidence than baseline sonography. Furthermore, contrast-enhanced sonography reduced the need for further diagnostic workups for focal hepatic lesion characterization.     

Does the echogenicity of focal liver lesions on baseline gray-scale ultrasound interfere with the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound?

The objective was to evaluate whether the echogenicity of focal liver lesions (FLLs) on baseline gray-scale ultrasound (US) interferes with the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) for small FLLs. Three-hundred and eighty-eight patients were examined by real-time CEUS using a sulfur hexafluoride-filled microbubble contrast agent. The images of 114 hyperechoic lesions, 30 isoechoic lesions and 244 hypoechoic lesions were reviewed by two blinded independent readers. A five-point confidence level was used to discriminate malignant from benign lesions, and specific diagnoses were made. The diagnostic performances were evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The diagnostic performances of CEUS on hyperechoic lesions in terms of the areas (Az) under the ROC curve were 0.987 (reader 1) and 0.981 (reader 2), and were 0.987 (reader 1) and 0.984 (reader 2) for iso- and hypoechoic lesions, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 87.0–95.9%, 93.1–100%, 88.6–100%, 70.0–97.1% and 90.0–95.1%, respectively. The echogenicity of FLLs on baseline gray-scale US does not appear to interfere with the diagnostic ability of CEUS for small FLLs.     

Characterization of hypoechoic focal hepatic lesions in patients with fatty liver: diagnostic performance and confidence of contrast-enhanced ultrasound

The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to characterize hypoechoic focal hepatic lesions (HFHL) in fatty liver (FL). A study group of 105 patients with FL and 105 HFHLs (52 malignant and 53 benign) underwent CEUS after SonoVue administration. Two blinded readers independently reviewed baseline ultrasound (US) and CEUS scans and classified each lesion as malignant or benign on a five-point scale of confidence, and recorded whether further imaging work-up was needed. Sensitivity, specificity, areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (A (z)), and interobserver agreement were calculated. We observed that the diagnostic confidence improved after reviewing CEUS scans for both readers (A (z)=0.706 and 0.999 and A (z)=0.665 and 0.990 at baseline US and CEUS, respectively; p<0.0001). Inter-reader agreement increased (weighted k=0.748 at baseline US vs. 0.882 at CEUS). For both readers, after CEUS, the occurrence of correctly characterized lesions increased (from 27/105 [27.5%] to 94/105 [89.5%], and from 19/105 [18.1%] to 93/105 [88.6%], respectively; p<0.0001) and the need for further imaging decreased (from 93/105 [88.6%] to 26/105 [24.8%], and from 96/105 [91.4%] to 40/105 [38.1%], respectively; p<0.0001). We conclude that CEUS improves the diagnostic performance of radiologists in the characterization of HFHLs in FL and reduces the need for further imaging work-up.     

Diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for complex cystic focal liver lesions: blinded reader study

The study was aimed at evaluating the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in characterizing complex cystic focal liver lesions (FLLs). Sixty-seven complex cystic FLLs in 65 patients were examined with conventional ultrasound (US) and real-time CEUS. The US and CEUS images were reviewed by a resident radiologist and a staff radiologist independently. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance, and the interobserver agreement was analysed. The results showed that complete non-enhancement throughout three phases of CEUS or sustained enhancement in the portal and late phases were exhibited in most benign lesions. Conversely, hypo-enhancement in the late phase was seen in all malignancies. After ROC analysis, the areas (Az) under the ROC curve were 0.774 at US versus 0.922 at CEUS (P = 0.047) by the resident radiologist, and 0.917 versus 0.935 (P = 0.38) by the staff radiologist. A significant difference in Az between the resident and the staff radiologists was found for US (0.774 versus 0.917, P = 0.044), whereas not found for CEUS (0.922 versus 0.935, P = 0.42). Interobserver agreement was improved after CEUS (κ = 0.325 at US versus κ = 0.774 at CEUS). Real-time CEUS improves the capability of discrimination between benign and malignant complex cystic FLLs, especially for the resident radiologist.     

The application value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic solid-cystic lesions

Objective

To retrospectively determine the accuracy of baseline ultrasound (BUS) and of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic solid-cystic lesions.

Methods

Fifty-four pancreatic solid-cystic lesions in 52 patients were examined with BUS and CEUS, two different seniority radiologists read the images independently, Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of BUS and CEUS in the diagnosis of benign or malignant pancreatic solid-cystic lesions, the diagnostic consistency between different seniority radiologists was evaluated by Kappa statistics.

Results

Among the 54 lesions, there were pancreatic cyst five cases, pancreatic pseudocyst twenty cases, pancreatic cystadenoma eight cases, pancreatic cystadenocarcinoma seven cases, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of pancreas (IPMN) three cases, pancreatic carcinoma combined liquefied six cases, solid-pseudopallary tumor of pancreas (SPTP) three cases, pancreatic myopericytoma one case, pancreatic lymphangioma one case. After ROC analysis, the areas under the ROC curve (Az) were 0.752 by BUS, 0.928 by CEUS to resident radiologist, and 0.896 by BUS, 0.954 by CEUS to staff radiologist. The correct diagnosis rate of specific disease was 42.6% by BUS, 64.8% by CEUS to staff radiologist (P < 0.05), and 33.3% by BUS, 53.7% by CEUS to resident radiologist (P < 0.05). The interobserver agreement in CEUS is higher than that in BUS, the Kappa value was 0.889 ± 0.062 and 0.428 ± 0.126 respectively.

Conclusion

Compared with BUS, CEUS can significantly enhance the diagnostic rate of pancreatic solid-cystic lesions.     

Film tomography compared with film and digital bitewing radiography for proximal caries detection

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of conventional tomography for proximal caries detection compared with conventional bitewing and digital intraoral radiography. METHODS: In this study, 48 extracted human posterior permanent teeth were used. Conventional bitewing radiographs, digital intraoral radiographs and conventional tomograms were obtained of the teeth. The presence or absence of caries was scored according to a five-point scale by two oral and maxillofacial radiologists. True caries depth was determined by histological examination. The diagnostic accuracy of each radiographic system was assessed by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The mean of areas under the ROC curve (A(z)) was analysed by pairwise comparison of ROC curve. The interobserver agreement was evaluated using a t-test. RESULTS: The statistical analysis of A(z) scores has shown no significant difference for three imaging modalities (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between interobserver agreement (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated that the diagnostic accuracy of conventional tomograms is comparable to that of conventional bitewing and digital intraoral radiographs for proximal caries detection.     

Characterization of focal liver lesions with contrast-specific US modes and a sulfur hexafluoride-filled microbubble contrast agent: diagnostic performance and confidence

PURPOSE: To assess whether characterization of solid focal liver lesions could be improved by using ultrasonographic (US) contrast-specific modes after sulfur hexafluoride-filled microbubble contrast agent injection, as compared with lesion characterization achieved with preliminary baseline US. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred fifty-two solid focal hepatic lesions that were considered indeterminate at baseline gray-scale and color Doppler US were examined after microbubble contrast agent injection performed by using low-acoustic-power contrast-specific modes during the arterial (10-40 seconds after injection), portal venous (50-90 seconds after injection), and late (100-300 seconds after injection) phases. Two readers independently and retrospectively reviewed baseline and contrast material-enhanced US scans and classified each depicted lesion as malignant or benign according to standard diagnostic criteria. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) were calculated by considering histologic analysis (317 patients) or contrast-enhanced helical computed tomography followed by serial US 3-6 months apart (135 patients) as the reference standards. RESULTS: Different contrast enhancement patterns were observed according to lesion characteristics. During the late phase, benign lesions were predominantly hyper- or isoechoic relative to the adjacent liver parenchyma, whereas malignant lesions were predominantly hypoechoic. Review of the contrast-enhanced US scans after baseline image review yielded significantly improved diagnostic performance (P <.05). Overall diagnostic accuracy was 49% before versus 85% after review of the contrast-enhanced scan for reader 1 and 51% before versus 88% after review of the contrast-enhanced scan for reader 2. Diagnostic confidence-that is, the Az-was 0.820 before versus 0.968 after review of the contrast-enhanced scan for reader 1 and 0.831 before versus 0.978 after review of the contrast-enhanced scan for reader 2. CONCLUSION: The use of contrast-specific modes with a sulfur hexafluoride contrast agent led to improved characterization of solid focal liver lesions.     

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma: differential diagnosis with contrast-enhanced ultrasound

Objective

We assessed the usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the differentiation of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

The CEUS enhancement patterns of 50 ICCs were retrospectively analysed and compared with 50 HCCs. Two readers independently reviewed the baseline ultrasound (BUS) and CEUS images and the diagnostic performances were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Time–intensity curves (TIC) were plotted for quantification analysis.

Results

In the arterial phase, peripheral rim-like hyperenhancement, heterogeneous hyperenhancement, homogeneous hyperenhancement and heterogeneous hypoenhancement were found in 25, 10, 3 and 12 of the ICCs versus 2, 29, 19 and 0 of the HCCs (P?<?0.001), respectively. The diagnostic performance of both readers in terms of the area under the ROC curve (0.745 vs. 0.933 for reader 1, and 0.803 vs. 0.911 for reader 2), sensitivity (28% vs. 90%, and 44% vs. 82%) and accuracy (64% vs. 90%, and 71% vs. 90%) improved significantly after CEUS (all P?<?0.05). The interobserver agreement increased from κ?=?0.575 at BUS to κ?=?0.720 after CEUS. TICs demonstrated that the intensities of the peripheral and central portions of the ICCs were lower than those of HCCs (both P?<?0.05).

Conclusion

CEUS improves the diagnostic performance significantly in the differentiation between ICC and HCC.     

Ultrasound assessment of increased capsular width as a predictor of temporomandibular joint effusion

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether an increased capsular width evidenced by ultrasound (US) could be an indirect marker of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) effusion. METHODS: 138 TMJs were evaluated by US and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by two blinded calibrated investigators. US measures of capsular width (in mm) and MRI diagnosis of TMJ effusion (presence/absence) were used to perform a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis in order to assess the most accurate cut-off value of capsular width that was able to discriminate between joints with and without MRI effusion. RESULTS: Diagnostic accuracy of US to detect MRI-depicted TMJ effusion was good (area under the ROC curve=0.817). US sensitivity was high for values below the cut-off value of 1.950 mm (true positive rate (TPR)=83.9%; false positive rate (FPR)=26.3%), while specificity was high for values above the cut-off value of 2.150 mm (TPR=71.0%; FPR=11.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of ROC curve appears to reveal that the critical area is around the 2 mm value for TMJ capsular width. These findings need to be refined by further studies assessing the smallest detectable difference in capsular width, with attention to reliability of interobserver observations.     

US characterization of focal hepatic lesions with intermittent high-acoustic-power mode and contrast material

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to determine whether ultrasound (US) performed with SonoVue, a contrast agent that contains microbubbles filled with sulfur hexafluoride vapor, depicts differential patterns of contrast enhancement in focal hepatic lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty focal hepatic lesions (15 hepatocellular carcinomas [HCCs], 10 metastases, 11 hemangiomas, and four focal nodular hyperplasias) in 39 patients were evaluated by means of US, color Doppler US, and contrast-enhanced US performed by using intermittent high-acoustic-power mode. Contrast-enhanced helical computed tomography (11 patients) and US-guided fine needle aspiration (28 patients) were used as reference procedures. Contrast enhancement patterns were defined by means of both subjective and objective analysis, and baseline and contrast-enhanced US scans were reviewed offline. RESULTS: Thirteen of 15 HCCs, eight of 10 metastases, and all four hemangiomas with an atypical pattern at baseline US were correctly characterized after SonoVue injection. Two of 15 HCCs and two of 10 metastases remained indeterminate, with no characteristic baseline or contrast-enhanced patterns identified. Baseline US was essential in characterizing all hemangiomas with a typical pattern (n = 7), and color Doppler US with spectral analysis of tumoral vessels was essential in characterizing focal nodular hyperplasia. The percentage of diagnostic agreement with reference procedures was significantly increased (P < .001) for contrast-enhanced US compared with baseline US. CONCLUSION: Characteristic patterns of US contrast enhancement with SonoVue help in characterizing and differentiating focal hepatic lesions.