title: Use of transesophageal echocardiography and contrast echocardiography in the evaluation of cardiac masses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the combination of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and contrast echocardiography (CE) accurately diagnose suspected cardiac masses using large sample data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with cardiac masses undergoing surgical treatment were enrolled in this study. Routine transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and TEE examinations were carried out, and CE examinations were carried out when needed. All patients' clinical data and imaging features were retrospectively reviewed. Surgery and histopathology served as the gold standard for diagnosing cardiac masses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 252 consecutive patients were included in this study. Sixteen patients were lost to follow-up and were excluded from the study. The combinations of TEE and CE yielded the correct pathologic diagnosis in 225 of 230 patients (97.8%), while CT yielded the correct pathologic diagnosis in 122 of 141 patients (86.5%), p<0.01. TEE yielded the correct pathologic diagnosis in 219 of 226 patients (96.9%), and CE yielded the correct pathologic diagnosis in 45 of 48 patients (93.8%). TTE alone yielded the correct pathologic diagnosis in 163 of 236 patients (69.1%), p<0.001 for all. TEE imaging provided detailed and precise information regarding cardiovascular morphology, anatomy, hemodynamics and function, and CE provided information regarding tissue characteristics without subjecting patients to radiation exposure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of TEE and CE is feasible for the detection of suspected cardiac masses, especially in diagnosing and differentiating between benign and malignant lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: xiahm985206@126.com.
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China; Department of Ultrasound, Xiangyang Hospital Affiliated to Hubei University of Medicine, Xiangyang, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of information, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yunhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cardiac masses; Contrast echocardiography; Diagnosis; Transesophageal echocardiography