Contrast‐Enhanced Ultrasound With SonoVue and Sonazoid for the Diagnosis of Colorectal Liver Metastasis After Chemotherapy

Purpose To compare the diagnostic efficacy of SonoVue and Sonazoid contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in correctly detecting and characterizing colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) after chemotherapy. Materials and methods Patients with CRLMs treated with chemotherapy and subsequently scheduled for hepatic resection were prospectively enrolled from April 2020 to January 2021. Lesions detected by SonoVue or Sonazoid CEUS were recorded as and characterized as metastases or non‐metastatic lesions respectively. Histopathology or intraoperative ultrasound with MRI were the reference standard. Results A total of 348 focal liver lesions in 42 patients were investigated, including 297 CRLMs and 51 non‐metastatic lesions. SonoVue showed significantly higher diagnostic accuracy (64.7% versus 54.0%; P < .001) and sensitivity (63.3% versus 50.5%; P < .001) in the diagnosis of CRLMs than Sonazoid, both methods presented with similar specificity (72.5% versus 74.5%; P = 1.0). Forty metastases appeared non‐hypoenhancing (hyperenhancing or isoenhancing) in the late phase and postvascular phase of Sonazoid CEUS and were mischaracterized as benign lesions. Conclusion SonoVue performed significantly better than Sonazoid in the diagnosis of CRLMs after chemotherapy.