Keywords:
Trauma, Contrast agent-intravenous, Ultrasound, CT, Emergency, Abdomen
Authors:
V. Miele1, V. Di Giacomo1, I. Di Giampietro1, S. Ianniello2, G. Menichini3, B. sessa3, M. Trinci4; 1Rome/IT, 2Roma (RM)/IT, 3Roma/IT, 4Roma, ITALY/IT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2013/C-0977
Purpose
The aim of the study is to evaluate the sensibility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the detection and staging of abdominal traumatic lesions in patients with low-energy isolated abdominal trauma in comparison with baseline ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-MDCT),
considered the gold standard.
The management of patients with mild or low-energy trauma is still the subject of controversy.
CT examination is the most accurate and panoramic imaging tool in the evaluation of patients involved in a high-energy accident in stable condition [1-3].
Baseline abdominal US is the first step protocol in many emergency centers and it’s recommended to be performed before the CT study.
It’s rapid,
repeatable,
noninvasive and inexpensive but the sensibility in the detection of abdominal solid organ traumatic lesions is quite low (also below 50% in literature) [4].
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in traumatic patients has been shown to be more sensitive than US for the detection of solid organ injuries,
improving the identification and grading of traumatic abdominal lesions with levels of sensibility and specificity similar to CT (up to 95% in literature) [1-5].