Association Between The Different Perfusion Features Of The Uterine Fibroids On Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound And The Effectivenes Of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation For Uterine Fibroids

Objective:Uterine fibroids can be divided into different categories according to the contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion features. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the safety and efficiency of HIFU ablation for uterine fibroids and the contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion features. The non-perfused volume(NPV) ratio 、sonication time and the energy needed for ablating one unit volume of the fibroids were compared.Methods:Patients with uterine fibroids were classified as two groups on contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion features: obvious homogeneous enhancement group and non-obvious homogeneous enhancement group.The treatment time, sonication power, sonication time, sonication energy,therapeutic intensity, ablation efficiency, EEF were compared between thetwo groups.Results:A total of 62 patients with 62 solitary uterine fibroids were treated with ultrasound-guided HIFU. The average NPV ratio in the obvious homogeneous enhancement group was 68(13-98)%, while it was77.6(57-99)% in the non-obvious homogeneous enhancement group,which had a significant difference(P<0.05). THE EEF from the obvious homogeneous enhancement group was 10(2.3-90.1) J/mm3, while it was2.9(0.4-8.7)J/mm3 in the non-obvious homogeneous enhancement group,which had a significant difference(P<0.05).Conclusions:Uterine fibroids showed obvious homogeneous enhancement is more difficult to treat with HIFU than those fibroids showed non-obvious homogeneous enhancement. Meanwhile, the contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion features can predict the effectiveness and efficiency of HIFU ablation for uterine fibroids.