title: Accuracy of sonographic diagnosis of superficial masses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to retrospectively review the diagnostic accuracy of sonography in the evaluation of superficial masses with surgical and histologic findings as the reference standard.
  
  
  METHODS
  Institutional Review Board approval was obtained, informed consent was waived, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance was maintained. Seventy-two superficial masses in 62 patients were examined sonographically by a single radiologist (reader 1) and subsequently underwent surgical therapy. Three radiologists experienced in sonography, blinded to the original interpretation and surgical findings, retrospectively and independently reviewed the sonographic images and assigned the cases to 1 of 14 diagnostic categories. For all lesions, the rendered diagnosis was compared with the reference standard to determine concordance. For the specific diagnosis of lipoma, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were assessed for all readers individually and collectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Surgery and histolopathologic analysis yielded 39 lipomas, 6 hernias, 4 foreign bodies, 4 hemangiomas, and 19 other nonlipomatous lesions, including 1 malignancy. The rendered diagnosis was concordant with the reference standard in 93% of cases for reader 1 and in 89% of cases for all readers. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of lipoma were 92%, 100%, and 96% for reader 1 and 96%, 97%, and 96% for all readers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sonography has high accuracy in the evaluation of superficial masses, particularly lipomas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin USA. jason-wagner@ouhsc.edu
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Kenneth S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rosas
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kliewer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: lipoma; mass; sonography; subcutaneous; superficial