Study Of ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT And Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound Used To Determine The Activity Of Hepatic Alveolar Echinococcosis

Objective: The mean gray scale ratio between the infiltrating zone of a lesion and the surrounding normal liver tissue was evaluated on the basis of the contrast enhancement of the infiltration and proliferation zone of a hepatic alveolar echinococcosis(HAE)lesion.The results were compared with the 18F-FDG SUVmax of PET-CT,and we discuss the application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)in evaluating HAE activity.Methods: Thirty-six patients with HAE were recruited;they underwent CEUS and PET-CT.The average gray scale intensity ratio between the infiltrating zone of the lesion and the surrounding normal liver tissue and the SUVmax data of PET-CT in the arterial phase were obtained.The kappa interrater reliability test of the two groups was analyzed to determine the activity of HAE.Results: A total of 39 lesions were found in the 36 patients;the maximum diameter of a lesion was 22.4 cm,with an average of 13.99 ± 5.43 cm.The PET-CT and CEUS diagnostic results were found to be consistent in a total of 34 cases.In three cases,PET-CT showed invasive lesions,while CEUS showed high enhancement,whereas in the other two cases,PET-CT showed inactive lesions while CEUS showed equal enhancement.In summary,the results showed that in 87.2% of cases,the two methods gave the same diagnosis,while in 12.8% cases,the diagnosis from the two methods was inconsistent.The statistical results showed that CEUS and PET-CT have good interrater reliability in determining the activity of HAE(kappa = 0.76,p < 0.01).Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound of the invasive proliferative activity at the edge of liver hydatid bubble-type lesions can replace 18 F-FDG PET-CT in terms of diagnostics value.