title: [Usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in daily clinical practice: a multicenter study in Spain].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to determine whether the use of ultrasonographic contrast agents improves the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography (US).
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out a prospective multicenter study in 42 hospitals. We included 1786 patients with inconclusive US; 84.9% of the inconclusive studies were abdominal US (including studies of the liver, kidneys, spleen, and other sites), 6.2% were studies of the peripheral vessels, 4.3% were breast studies, and 4.6% were other studies. We evaluated the type of contrast-enhanced US (color Doppler or contrast-specific method), type of contrast agent, dose and number of doses, and type of administration (bolus or infusion). We evaluated whether the findings at contrast-enhanced US improved the diagnostic performance of unenhanced US and whether they enabled a conclusive diagnosis to be reached.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The contrast agent SonoVue was used in 99.9% of the studies; a single dose of contrast agent was used in 84.8%, and the contrast agent was administered in bolus in 98.5%. Contrast-enhanced US improved the diagnostic performance in 91.6% of cases and enabled the conclusive diagnosis in 69.2%. The best diagnostic performance was obtained in the supraaortic trunks, where a definitive diagnosis was reached in 95.4% of cases, followed by the abdominal area, with a conclusive diagnosis in 72.6% of cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of contrast-enhanced US significantly improved the diagnostic performance of US and enabled a conclusive diagnosis in most cases.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Radiología, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, España. CNICOLAU@clinic.ub.es
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nicolau Molina
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fontanilla Echeveste
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Del Cura Rodríguez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cruz Villalón
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ripollés González
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baudet Naveros
authors.forename: M A J
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Velasco Marcos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garre Sánchez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huertas Arroyo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hernández García
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pitti Reyes
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gómez Rodríguez
authors.forename: M A J
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Calvo López
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maroto Genover
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alvarez Bustos
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poch Zatarain
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Talegón Meléndez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010743:Phospholipids; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D013459:Sulfur Hexafluoride; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D010743:Phospholipids; D011134:Polysaccharides; C420843:contrast agent BR1; C059891:SHU 508; D013459:Sulfur Hexafluoride