"Our results provide advantages of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in imaging of low-grade lesions compared to conventional ultrasound, as they show its superiority in the identifiability of intramuscular edema," wrote scheduled presenter Dr. Rafael Heiss, from the Radiology Institute at the University of Erlangen, and colleagues in their RSNA abstract.
In the study, 15 patients were examined after indirect muscular injuries of the lower extremities. Within 24 to 48 hours after the injury, the subjects underwent conventional ultrasound scans and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. An MRI scan also was performed and used as the gold standard to verify and determine the extent of the lesion.
MRI and contrast-enhanced ultrasound detected all 15 lesions, compared with only 10 injuries identified by conventional ultrasound.
In clinical practice, "MRI is often reserved for high-level athletes or serious injuries in which a pronounced structural damage is expected," the authors wrote. "In conventional ultrasound diagnostic of low-grade lesions (ultrastructural lesions and muscle strains), the concerned muscle tissue often appears normal. In this context, contrast-enhanced ultrasound may be a new investigative tool in the diagnostic imaging of low-grade muscle lesions."
