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Evaluation of liver fibrosis by investigation of hepatic parenchymal perfusion using contrast‐enhanced ultrasound: An animal study
Author(s) -
Ying Michael,
Leung Gina,
Lau Thomas Y.H.,
Tipoe George L.,
Lee Esther S.T.,
Yuen Queeny W.H.,
Huang YanPing,
Zheng YongPing
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.21969
Subject(s) - medicine , perfusion , fibrosis , parenchyma , ultrasound , hepatic fibrosis , stage (stratigraphy) , contrast enhanced ultrasound , carbon tetrachloride , pathology , liver fibrosis , intensity (physics) , nuclear medicine , radiology , physics , quantum mechanics , paleontology , chemistry , organic chemistry , biology
Purpose: To investigate the value of assessing the hepatic parenchymal perfusion in contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for evaluating liver fibrosis, using an animal model. Methods: Seventy Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into experimental (n = 35) and control (n = 35) groups. In the experimental group, liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride. CEUS of the liver was performed at a 2‐week interval for 14 weeks. Signal intensity of liver parenchyma was analyzed with time‐intensity curves. Histologic examination of liver specimens of the animals was performed to assess the fibrosis stage. Results: The peak signal intensity of hepatic parenchymal perfusion in stage 2–3 fibrosis was significantly lower than that in stage 0–1. The time to peak intensity of hepatic parenchymal perfusion was significantly longer in the experimental group than the control group, and in the stage 3 fibrosis than in stages 0–2 fibrosis. Using time to peak intensity of hepatic parenchymal perfusion to distinguish stage 3 fibrosis and stages 0–2 fibrosis, the optimum cutoff was 75,000 milliseconds with the sensitivity and specificity of 67% and 78%, respectively. Conclusions: This animal study showed that CEUS has the potential to be a complementary imaging tool in the evaluation of liver fibrosis. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 40:462–470, 2012