title: Italian guidelines for noninvasive imaging assessment of focal liver lesions: development and conclusions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop guidelines for the noninvasive imaging assessment of focal liver lesions comparing different imaging modalities focused on (i) evaluating the imaging techniques in terms of (a) diagnostic accuracy; (b) role in the management of oncologic patients; (c) follow-up of benign lesions; and (ii) developing standard procedure for their use in patients with focal liver lesions that require targeted diagnostic characterization.
  
  
  METHODS
  An explicit search strategy was used to conduct a systematic review of the literature in the English language from January 2000 to October 2007; the search covered PubMed, Embase, Pascal, SciSearch, and Cochrane Library databases. A panel of experts evaluated the selected studies and conveyed their view.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The online search yielded 4960 titles and abstracts from which 176 studies were considered suitable for the final adherence-to-guidelines topic evaluation. An evidence grading system was not used as the guideline topic and the heterogeneity of the collected data did not fit with the currently used hierarchy of evidence. A panel of experts formulated several recommendations with grade and level which were expressed narratively and nonschematically.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The recommendations reported in the study are based on an extensive literature evaluation and were developed by considering the appropriateness of the choice of the imaging techniques while noninvasively detecting and characterizing focal liver lesions.
authors.affiliation: Ultrasound Unit, Infectious Diseases Department, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico S. Matteo, University of Pavia, Rome, Italy. carfil@unipv.it
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Filice
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calliada
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Masi
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sampaolo
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morciano
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: Maria Franca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Meloni
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sileo
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scabini
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cantisani
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferraioli
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*