title: A Review of the Appropriateness of the Current Italian Guidelines for Noninvasive Imaging Assessment of Focal Liver Lesions.
abstract: In 2007 the Italian National Institute of Health issued Guidelines for the use of diagnostic imaging techniques in the detection and the characterization of focal liver lesions. Since the publication of these guidelines in 2008, several studies relating to this topic have been published. Thus, we felt the need to assess whether interval research and new advancements in diagnostic imaging have yielded new evidence that should modify the recommendations that were previously issued. The literature search confirmed the appropriateness of the current guidelines. Although most modalities did not show substantial changes, interval introduction of DW-MRI is a valuable technique with a high diagnostic accuracy in the detection and characterization of FLLs, and its sensitivity is higher when combined with MRI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Medical School University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. giovanna.ferraioli@unipv.it.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferraioli
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Medical School University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dellafiore
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Ospedale Valduce, Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Franca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Meloni
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Medical School University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calliada
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Medical School University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Filice
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results