Point-of-care contrast enhanced lung ultrasound and COVID-19

Ultrasound ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1742271X2110479
Author(s):  
Alice Tee ◽  
Gibran Timothy Yusuf ◽  
Adrian Wong ◽  
Deepak Rao ◽  
Sa Tran ◽  
...  

Objectives Bedside lung ultrasound has been indispensable during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, allowing us to rapidly assess critically unwell patients. We demonstrate the unique application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound with the aim of further understanding this disease. Methods Patient demographics were recorded alongside recent cross-sectional imaging and inflammatory markers. Ultrasound was conducted by experienced operators in a portable setting. Conventional six-point lung ultrasound method was used to evaluate B-lines, small (subpleural) consolidation and the pleura. Areas of small consolidation were targeted after intravenous administration of ultrasound contrast. Results The areas of small consolidations, a potential sign of pneumonia on B-mode lung ultrasound, usually enhance on contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Our study revealed these areas to be avascular, indicating an underlying thrombotic/infarction process. Findings were present in 100% of the patients we examined. We have also shown that the degree of infarction correlates with CT severity (r = 0.4) and inflammatory markers, and that these areas improve as patients recover. Conclusions We confirmed the theory of immune thrombus by identifying the presence of microthrombi in the lungs of 100% of our patients, despite 79% having had a recent negative CT pulmonary angiogram study. contrast-enhanced ultrasound can be utilised to add confidence to an uncertain COVID-19 diagnosis and for prognosticating and monitoring progress in confirmed COVID-19 patients. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is clearly very different to CT, the gold standard, and while there are specific pathologies that can only be detected on CT, contrast-enhanced ultrasound has many advantages, most notability the ability to pick up microthrombi at the periphery of the lungs.

2020 ◽  
pp. 028418512093929
Author(s):  
Paul Spiesecke ◽  
Thomas Fischer ◽  
Andreas Maxeiner ◽  
Bernd Hamm ◽  
Markus H Lerchbaumer

Background Renal pseudotumors appear as benign cortical hypertrophies and are typically assessed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging to rule out malignancy. Purpose To investigate whether contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can rule out renal neoplasm and thus potentially reduce cross-sectional imaging and further follow-up in these patients. Material and Methods Thirty-two patients with presumption of developmental renal pseudotumor on CEUS between June 2011 and July 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were examined with a standardized renal US protocol including B-mode, color-coded duplex sonography (CCDS), and CEUS by an experienced radiologist (EFSUMB level 3). Images were retrospectively interpreted in consensus by two highly experienced radiologists. Histopathological reports, cross-sectional imaging findings, and clinical course (treatment response, long-term imaging follow-up) were defined as standard of reference. Results CEUS correctly identified 8/9 neoplastic lesions and missed one oncocytoma within the 32 included patients. Irregular vessel structure (88.9% vs. 13.0%, P = 0.007) and hyperenhancement (66.6% vs. 17.4%, P = 0.031) on CEUS were more common in neoplasm compared to developmental pseudotumors reaching statistical significance. Compared with the standard of reference, CEUS had 89% sensitivity (95% confidence interval [CI] 57–98), 96% specificity (95% CI 80–99), a positive predictive value of 89% (95% CI 57–98), and a negative predictive value of 96% (95% CI 79–99) for ruling out renal malignancy in developmental pseudotumors. Conclusion CEUS is a safe and fast method to rule out neoplasm in the diagnostic work-up of renal pseudotumors. In conjunction with B-mode and CCDS, CEUS has the potential to reduce further (invasive) diagnostic procedures.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
François Audenet ◽  
Jordan Sapetti ◽  
Christophe Delavaud ◽  
Virginie Verkarre ◽  
Jean-Michel Correas ◽  
...  

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Indeterminate renal cysts may require several imaging modalities before clinical decision. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the imaging modality used to characterize indeterminate renal cysts on the pathological findings after surgical resection. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> From our institutional database, we identified all patients surgically treated for Bosniak III renal masses between January 2008 and January 2018. All complex renal cysts were characterized with a combination of computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and/or contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and discussed during a multidisciplinary tumor board. Potential association between clinical/radiological characteristics and the pathological findings were investigated, using univariate and multivariate analyses. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the 52 renal cystic lesions surgically removed, with a preoperative diagnosis of Bosniak III renal cyst, 19 (37%) were malignant and 33 (63%) were benign. The proportion of malignant lesions decreased from 47% when the renal cyst was characterized with cross-sectional imaging (CT and/or MRI) to 17% when the diagnosis required CEUS in addition to cross-sectional imaging. In multivariate analysis, prior history of renal cell carcinoma was associated with a higher risk of malignancy (<i>p</i> = 0.016) and diagnosis made with CEUS was associated with a lower risk of malignancy (<i>p</i> = 0.040). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> We found that using CEUS in addition to cross-sectional imaging to characterize indeterminate renal cysts tends to redefine Bosniak III as lesions with a lower risk of malignancy and can lead to overclassification.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Alexander Auer ◽  
Thomas Fischer ◽  
Stephan Rodrigo Marticorena Garcia ◽  
Tobias Penzkofer ◽  
Ernst-Michael Jung ◽  
...  

VASA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Li ◽  
Daniel Staub ◽  
Vasileios Rafailidis ◽  
Mohammed Al-Natour ◽  
Sanjeeva Kalva ◽  
...  

Abstract. Ultrasound has been established as an important diagnostic tool in assessing vascular abnormalities. Standard B-mode and Doppler techniques have inherent limitations with regards to detection of slow flow and small vasculature. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a complementary tool and is useful in assessing both the macro- and microvascular anatomy of the aorta. CEUS can also provide valuable physiological information in real-time scanning sessions due to the physical and safety profiles of the administered microbubbles. From a macrovascular perspective, CEUS has been used to characterize aortic aneurysm rupture, dissection and endoleaks post-EVAR repair. With regard to microvasculature CEUS enables imaging of adventitial vasa vasorum thereby assessing aortic inflammation processes, such as monitoring treatment response in chronic periaortitis. CEUS may have additional clinical utility since adventitial vasa vasorum has important implications in the pathogenesis of aortic diseases. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies comparing CEUS to cross-sectional imaging for aortic applications. For endoleak surveillance CEUS has been shown to be equal or in certain cases superior in comparison to CT angiography. The recent advancement of CEUS software along with the ongoing development of drug-eluting contrast microbubbles has allowed improved targeted detection and real-time ultrasound guided therapy for aortic vasa vasorum inflammation and neovascularization in animal models. Therefore, CEUS is uniquely suited to comprehensively assess and potentially treat aortic vascular diseases in the future.


2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Herr ◽  
Valdair F. Muglia ◽  
Walter José Koff ◽  
Antonio Carlos Westphalen

With the steep increase in the use of cross-sectional imaging in recent years, the incidentally detected adrenal lesion, or "incidentaloma", has become an increasingly common diagnostic problem for the radiologist, and a need for an approach to classifying these lesions as benign, malignant or indeterminate with imaging has spurred an explosion of research. While most incidentalomas represent benign disease, typically an adenoma, the possibility of malignant involvement of the adrenal gland necessitates a reliance on imaging to inform management decisions. In this article, we review the literature on adrenal gland imaging, with particular emphasis on computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and photon-emission tomography, and discuss how these findings relate to clinical practice. Emerging technologies, such as contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, dual-energy computed tomography, and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging will also be briefly addressed.


Author(s):  
Mustafa J. Musa ◽  
Mohamed Yousef ◽  
Mohammed Adam ◽  
Awadalla Wagealla ◽  
Lubna Boshara ◽  
...  

: Lung ultrasound [LUS] has evolved considerably over the last years. The aim of the current review is to conduct a systematic review reported from a number of studies to show the usefulness of [LUS] and point of care ultrasound for diagnosing COVID-19. A systematic search of electronic data was conducted including the national library of medicine, and the national institute of medicine, PubMed Central [PMC] to identify the articles depended on [LUS] to monitor COVID-19. This review highlights the ultrasound findings reported in articles before the pandemic [11], clinical articles before COVID-19 [14], review studies during the pandemic [27], clinical cases during the pandemic [5] and other varying aims articles. The reviewed studies revealed that ultrasound findings can be used to help in the detection and staging of the disease. The common patterns observed included irregular and thickened A-lines, multiple B-lines ranging from focal to diffuse interstitial consolidation, and pleural effusion. Sub-plural consolidation is found to be associated with the progression of the disease and its complications. Pneumothorax was not recorded for COVID-19 patients. Further improvement in the diagnostic performance of [LUS] for COVID-19 patients can be achieved by using elastography, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and power Doppler imaging.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Smita Ramanadham ◽  
Seth M. Toomay ◽  
Adam C. Yopp ◽  
Glen C. Balch ◽  
Rohit Sharma ◽  
...  

Normal hepatic arterial anatomy occurs in approximately 50–80% of cases; for the remaining cases, multiple variations have been described. Knowledge of these anomalies is especially important in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery in order to avoid unnecessary complications. We describe two cases of patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy for abnormalities in the head of the pancreas. Preoperative contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging demonstrated relevant, rare hepatic arterial variants: (1) a completely replaced hepatic arterial system with a gastroduodenal artery (GDA) arising directly from the celiac axis and (2) a replaced right hepatic artery originating from the superior mesenteric artery and traveling anterior to the pancreatic uncinate process and head. These findings were confirmed during pancreatoduodenectomy. Both of these variants have been rarely described with an incidence of <1.0%. In the present paper, we describe the hepatic arterial anomalies commonly encountered and clarify the important details associated with these variants as they pertain to pancreatoduodenectomy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Jaworska ◽  
Natalia Buda ◽  
Ioana Mihaiela Ciuca ◽  
Yi Dong ◽  
Cheng Fang ◽  
...  

Ultrasound (US) is an ideal diagnostic tool for paediatric patients owning to its high spatial and temporal resolution, real-time imaging, and lack of ionizing radiation and bedside availability. The lack of superficial adipose tissue and favorable acoustic windows in children makes US the first line of investigation for the evaluation of pleural and chest wall abnormali-ties. Lung parenchyma was previously thought to be inaccessible to ultrasound due to the presence of the air and bony thorax. The change in attitude and growing awareness of the diagnostic possibilities has led to lung ultrasound (LUS) being accepted as a valuable point of care method. In addition, the application of LUS has widened with improvements in technology such as higher resolution transducers, harmonic imaging and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. In the current World Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) paper series the topic will be introduced, the technical requirements explained and the use of ultrasound in the lung and pleura in pediatric patients are discussed.


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