Comparison of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Detection and Characterization of Uterine Leiomyomas.

OBJECTIVES

Uterine fibroids are common findings in women with pelvic pain and abnormal uterine bleeding. The reference standard test in the pretreatment evaluation of fibroids is contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. This study compared the number, size, location, and enhancement of uterine fibroids identified by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and MR. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that CEUS performs similarly to MR and could be used as an alternative imaging modality.

METHODS

In this prospective observational study, 26 women underwent transabdominal CEUS and MR examinations. Blinded to the original clinical MR interpretations, 2 readers reviewed the MR and CEUS studies for each patient. The number, size, location, and enhancement of each fibroid per patient were reported by MR and CEUS. A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated for the number of fibroids identified by each modality.

RESULTS

In total, 126 fibroids were imaged: 115 (91.3%) were observed on both examinations; 9 (7.1%) were observed by MR only; and 2 (1.6%) were observed by CEUS only. A high correlation was found between the modalities for the number of fibroids identified per patient (r = 0.97; P < .001). There was also no significant difference between the modalities for each patient in the fibroid number, size, location, or enhancement.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that transabdominal CEUS may represent an alternative to MR in pretreatment evaluation of uterine fibroids and could serve as a test of choice in patients with a contraindication to MR.