title: Transthoracic Ultrasound Elastography in Pulmonary Lesions and Diseases.
abstract: Ultrasound elastography has shown promising result in the diagnosis of various diseases; however, its application for pulmonary diseases has yet to be clarified. This study aimed to assess the application and feasibility of ultrasound elastography in various pulmonary lesions and diseases. We enrolled 45 patients with radiographic evidence of pneumonia, tumors or obstructive pneumonitis, and 70 ultrasonic lesions were identified (eight necrosis, 17 atelectasis, seven consolidation and 38 tumors). Ultrasound elastography was performed and the strain ratio, which is the ratio of strain of the reference tissue to an equally measuring region of interest of a lesion, was measured. The strain ratio was significantly different among lesions with different ultrasound morphologies (1.03 ± 0.71 [necrosis] vs. 2.51 ± 1.14 [atelectasis] vs. 19.98 ± 15.59 [consolidation] vs. 36.19 ± 20.18 [tumor]; p < 0.05). The strain ratio of primary lung cancer was also significantly different from pneumonia (p = 0.023) and metastatic lung cancer (p = 0.015). In conclusion, transthoracic ultrasound elastography can differentiate pulmonary lesions with different ultrasound morphologies. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02636985.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chor-Kuan
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Douliou City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Che-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Douliou City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, National Yang Ming University Hospital, Yilan City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: haochienwang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hao-Chien
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Chest Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chong-Jen
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Elastography; Lung; Pulmonary; Thorax; Transthoracic; Ultrasound