Contrast-enhanced sonography shows liver and spleen injuries better than non-contrast enhanced sonography, according to a study conducted at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine department of radiology in Sacramento, CA.
This study included 22 liver, spleen or renal injuries. Contrast-enhanced sonography depicted 20 (91%) of the 22 injuries while non-contrast-enhanced sonography revealed 11 (50%).
"The main focus of sonography for patients with blunt abdominal trauma is to detect free fluid," said John McGahan, MD, lead author of the study. Free fluid is non-clotted blood within the peritoneal cavity. "However, there could be an organ injury without free fluid and the injury could be missed," he said. "Contrast-enhanced sonography allows the radiologist to see free fluid as well as the injury itself," he said.
On a scale ranging from 0, being non-visualization, to 3, being high visualization, the average grade went from 0.67 to 2.33 for spleen injuries and from 1.0 to 2.2 for liver injuries when comparing contrast-enhanced sonography to non-contrast-enhance sonography, said Dr. McGahan.
"We are very happy with the results and can say that the use of contrast-enhanced sonography is accurate for depicting solid organ injuries," said Dr. McGahan.
This study appears in the September 2006 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Journal
American Journal of Roentgenology