• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.351-360
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• 2019

Purpose: To investigate noninvasive biomarkers for predicting treatment response in patients with locally advanced HCC who underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRTx). Materials and Methods: Thirty patients (55.5 ± 10.2 years old, M:F = 24:6) who underwent CCRTx due to advanced HCC were enrolled. Contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were obtained before and immediately after CCRTx. The third CEUS was obtained at one month after CCRTx was completed. Response was assessed at three months after CCRTx based on RECIST 1.1. Quantitative imaging biomarkers measured with CEUS and MRI were compared between groups. A cutoff value was calculated with ROC analysis. Overall survival (OS) was compared by the Breslow method. Results: Twenty-five patients were categorized into the non-progression group and five patients were categorized into the progression group. Peak enhancement of the first CEUS before CCRTx (PE1) was significantly lower in the non-progression group (median, 18.6%; IQR, 20.9%) than that in the progression group (median, 59.1%; IQR, 13.5%; P = 0.002). There was no significant difference in other quantitative biomarkers between the two groups. On ROC analysis, with a cutoff value of 42.6% in PE1, the non-progression group was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 100%. OS was also significantly longer in patients with PE1 < 42.6% (P = 0.014). Conclusion: Early treatment response and OS could be predicted by PE on CEUS before CCRTx in patients with HCC.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.193-200
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• 2023

Purpose: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, idiopathic bowel disorder that can progress to partial or complete bowel obstruction. At present, there are no reliable diagnostic tests that can readily distinguish between acute inflammatory, purely fibrotic and mixed inflammatory and fibrotic. Our aim is to study the utility of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in combination with shear wave elastography (SWE) to differentiate fibrotic from inflammatory strictures in children with obstructive CD of the terminal ileum. Methods: Twenty-five (19 male) children between 2016-2021 with CD of the terminal ileum were recruited into the study. Among these patients, 22 had CEUS kinetic measurements of tissue perfusion, including wash-in slope (dB/sec), peak intensity (dB), time to peak intensity (sec), area under the curve (AUC) (dB sec), and SWE. In total, 11 patients required surgery due to bowel obstruction. Histopathologic analysis was performed by a pathologist who was blinded to the CEUS and SWE test results. Results: Patients that underwent surgical resection had significantly higher mean area under the curve on CEUS compared to patients responsive to medical therapy (p=0.03). The AUC also correlated with the degree of hypertrophy and the percent fibrosis of the muscularis propria, as determined by histopathologic grading (p<0.01). There was no difference in the mean elastography measurements between these two patient groups. Conclusion: CEUS is a useful radiological technique that can help identify pediatric patients with medically refractory obstructive fibrotic strictures of the terminal ileum that should be considered for early surgical resection.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.801-810
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate imaging biomarkers of microperfusion in contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Materials and Methods: The CIN model was fabricated by administering indomethacin (10 mg/kg), L-NAME (15 mg/kg), and iopamidol (10 mL/kg) to Sprague-Dawley rats. After 24 hours, CEUS was performed on CIN (n = 6) and control (n = 6) rats with sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles (SonoVue). From time-intensity curves obtained from the kidney arriving time (AT), acceleration time (AC), time to peak (TTP), and peak enhancement (PE) were measured and compared between the groups. After CEUS, the rats were sacrificed, and cell apoptosis markers were evaluated to confirm the development of CIN. Results: Among CEUS parameters, AT (7.8 ± 1.6 vs. 4.2 ± 0.5 s, p = 0.002), AC (4.7 ± 1.4 vs. 2.0 ± 0.4 s, p = 0.002), and TTP (12.5 ± 2.9 vs. 6.2 ± 0.6 s, p = 0.002) were significantly prolonged in the CIN group compared to controls. PE was significantly higher in the control group than in the CIN group (17.1 ± 1.9 vs. 12.2 ± 2.0 dB, p = 0.004). In kidney tissue, mRNA and protein levels of the apoptotic makers were significantly higher in the CIN group than in the control group (p = 0.003 and p = 0.002). Conclusion: CEUS parameters can be used as imaging biomarkers for microperfusion in CIN. In rats with CIN, AT, AC, and TTP were significantly prolonged, while PE was significantly lower compared to controls.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.4
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• pp.889-902
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• 2021

Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for additional MR-detected enhancing lesions and to determine whether or not kinetic pattern results comparable to dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) of the breast can be obtained using the quantitative analysis of CEUS. Materials and Methods In this single-center prospective study, a total of 71 additional MR-detected breast lesions were included. CEUS examination was performed, and lesions were categorized according to the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS). The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of CEUS were calculated by comparing the BI-RADS category to the final pathology results. The degree of agreement between CEUS and DCE-MRI kinetic patterns was evaluated using weighted kappa. Results On CEUS, 46 lesions were assigned as BI-RADS category 4B, 4C, or 5, while 25 lesions category 3 or 4A. The diagnostic performance of CEUS for enhancing lesions on DCE-MRI was excellent, with 84.9% sensitivity, 94.4% specificity, and 97.8% positive predictive value. A total of 57/71 (80%) lesions had correlating kinetic patterns and showed good agreement (weighted kappa = 0.66) between CEUS and DCE-MRI. Benign lesions showed excellent agreement (weighted kappa = 0.84), and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) showed good agreement (weighted kappa = 0.69). Conclusion The diagnostic performance of CEUS for additional MR-detected breast lesions was excellent. Accurate kinetic pattern assessment, fairly comparable to DCE-MRI, can be obtained for benign and IDC lesions using CEUS.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2361-2368
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• 2015

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in differentiating between benign and malignant enlarged lymph nodes using meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Pubmed, Embase, SCI and Cochrane databases were searched for studies (up to September 1, 2014) reporting the diagnostic performance of CEUS in discriminating between benign and malignant lymph nodes. Inclusion criteria were: prospective study; histopathology as the reference standard; and sufficient data to construct $2{\times}2$ contingency tables. Methodological quality was assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2). Patient clinical characteristics, sensitivity and specificity were extracted. The summary receiver operating characteristic curve was used to examine the accuracy of CEUS. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the clinical utility in identification of benign and malignant lymph nodes. Sensitivity analysis was performed after omitting outliers identified in a bivariate boxplot and publication bias was assessed with Egger testing. Results: The pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUROC were 0.92 (95%CI, 0.85-0.96), 0.91 (95%CI, 0.82-0.95) and 0.97 (95%CI, 0.95-0.98), respectively. After omitting 3 outlier studies, heterogeneity decreased. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated no disproportionate influences of individual studies. Publication bias was not significant. Conclusions: CEUS is a promising diagnostic modality in differentiating between benign and malignant lymph nodes and can potentially reduce unnecessary fine-needle aspiration biopsies of benign nodes.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.863-879
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• 2019

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be noninvasively diagnosed on the basis of its characteristic imaging findings of arterial phase enhancement and portal/delayed "washout" on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in cirrhotic patients. However, different specific diagnostic criteria have been proposed by several countries and major academic societies. In 2018, major guideline updates were proposed by the Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), Korean Liver Cancer Association and National Cancer Center (KLCA-NCC) of Korea. In addition to dynamic CT and MRI using extracellular contrast media, these new guidelines now include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using hepatobiliary contrast media as the first-line diagnostic test, while the KLCA-NCC and EASL guidelines also include contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as the second-line diagnostic test. Therefore, hepatobiliary MR contrast media and CEUS will be increasingly used for the noninvasive diagnosis and staging of HCC. In this review, we discuss the emerging role of hepatobiliary phase MRI and CEUS for the diagnosis of HCC and also review the changes in the HCC diagnostic criteria in major guidelines, including the KLCA-NCC practice guidelines version 2018. In addition, we aimed to pay particular attention to some remaining issues in the noninvasive diagnosis of HCC.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.56-67
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• 2019

In this study, we analyzed the intensity attenuation for M 6.0, 6.5, and 7.0 earthquakes using the broadband strong ground motion simulation platform based on the physical seismic modeling developed by the US Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC). The location of the earthquake was assumed to be near the epicenter of the 2016 M 5.8 Gyeongju earthquake, but two of the representative US regional models provided by the SCEC strong ground motion simulation platform were used for the propagation model. One is the Central and Eastern United States (CEUS) model representing the intraplate region, and the other is the LA Basin model representing the interplate region. Five modeling methodologies are presented in the version 16.5 of the simulation platform, and Song and Exsim models were used in this study. In the analysis, we found that different intensity attenuation patterns can be observed with the same magnitude of earthquakes, especially depending on the region (CEUS vs LA Basin). Given the same magnitude and distance, the instrumental intensity in the CEUS region (intraplate) could be larger by a unit of 2 than that in the LA Basin region (interplate). Given the difference of intensity attenuation patterns observed in the study, it is important to know the regional intensity attenuation characteristics to understand the accurate level of seismic hazard imposed in the Korean Peninsula. This study also shows the level of the uncertainty of intensity attenuation if region specific attenuation characteristics are not considered.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.375-381
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• 2023

A large abdominal mass was incidentally found in a 13-year-old mixed-breed dog and was confirmed to be a cecal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Contrast-enhanced ultrasound and post-contrast computed tomography (CT) showed mild contrast enhancement of the mass, indicating low blood flow. The tumor origin was determined to be the cecum by identifying the vessels supplying the mass on post-contrast CT. The exophytic growth of the tumor left the cecal lumen intact without obstruction. This report described the CEUS and CT perfusion of the cecal GIST and perfusion evaluation can help diagnose and characterize GISTs in dogs.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.338-348
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• 2023

Objective: Patients with a history of ischemic stroke are at risk for a second ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between carotid plaque enhancement on perfluorobutane microbubble contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and future recurrent stroke, and to determine whether plaque enhancement can contribute to risk assessment for recurrent stroke compared with the Essen Stroke Risk Score (ESRS). Materials and Methods: This prospective study screened 151 patients with recent ischemic stroke and carotid atherosclerotic plaques at our hospital between August 2020 and December 2020. A total of 149 eligible patients underwent carotid CEUS, and 130 patients who were followed up for 15-27 months or until stroke recurrence were analyzed. Plaque enhancement on CEUS was investigated as a possible risk factor for stroke recurrence and as a possible adjunct to ESRS. Results: During follow-up, 25 patients (19.2%) experienced recurrent stroke. Patients with plaque enhancement on CEUS had an increased risk of stroke recurrence events (22/73, 30.1%) compared to those without plaque enhancement (3/57, 5.3%), with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 38.264 (95% confidence interval [CI]:14.975-97.767; P < 0.001) according to a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model analysis, indicating that the presence of carotid plaque enhancement was a significant independent predictor of recurrent stroke. When plaque enhancement was added to the ESRS, the HR for stroke recurrence in the high-risk group compared to that in the low-risk group (2.188; 95% CI, 0.025-3.388) was greater than that of the ESRS alone (1.706; 95% CI, 0.810-9.014). A net of 32.0% of the recurrence group was reclassified upward appropriately by the addition of plaque enhancement to the ESRS. Conclusion: Carotid plaque enhancement was a significant and independent predictor of stroke recurrence in patients with ischemic stroke. Furthermore, the addition of plaque enhancement improved the risk stratification capability of the ESRS.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.165-171
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• 2023

Trauma remains a significant healthcare burden, causing over five million yearly fatalities. Notably, the liver is a frequently injured solid organ in abdominal trauma, especially in patients under 40 years. It becomes even more critical given that uncontrolled hemorrhage linked to liver trauma can have mortality rates ranging from 10% to 50%. Liver injuries, mainly resulting from blunt trauma such as motor vehicle accidents, are traditionally classified using the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma grading scale. However, recent developments have introduced the World Society of Emergency Surgery classification, which considers the patient's physiological status. The diagnostic approach often involves multiphase computed tomography (CT). Still, newer methods like split-bolus single-pass CT and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) aim to reduce radiation exposure. Concerning management, nonoperative strategies have emerged as the gold standard, especially for hemodynamically stable patients. Incorporating angiography with embolization has also been beneficial, with success rates reported between 80% and 97%. However, it is essential to identify the specific source of bleeding for effective embolization. Given the severity of liver trauma and its potential complications, innovations in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have been pivotal. While CT remains a primary diagnostic tool, methods like CEUS offer safer alternatives. Moreover, nonoperative management, especially when combined with angiography and embolization, has demonstrated notable success. Still, the healthcare community must remain vigilant to complications and continuously seek improvements in trauma care.