title: Color doppler ultrasound of liver lesions: signal enhancement after intravenous injection of the ultrasound contrast agent Levovist.
abstract: Patients with focal liver lesions (hemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia, adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, metastatic lesions, focal fatty lesion) received the ultrasound contrast agent Levovist (300 mg/mL and 400 mg/mL) intravenously. This ultrasound contrast agent (a suspension of micrometer-sized microparticles of galactose and microscopic gaseous bubbles) can pass through the lungs without impairment. After the administration of Levovist, increased color flow signals were detected in the liver. Five of 6 patients with metastatic liver lesions showed previously undetected blood flow in the rim of the tumor. In 4 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, enhanced signal intensity was observed in the vessels of the rim and in 3 of those patients in the center of the tumor. One patient with adenoma and one patient with focal nodular hyperplasia showed signal enhancement in the central area of the tumor. No signal enhancement was observed in hemangiomas, a focal fatty lesion, or in a carcinoid metastatic lesion. Levovist increased the echointensity of normal and tumor vessels in liver lesions. This new ultrasound contrast agent led to the detection of tumor vessels previously not detectable by conventional color flow imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine I, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Balzer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schlief
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Heyder
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000328:Adult; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D011134:Polysaccharides; C059891:SHU 508