COMPREHENSIVE ULTRASOUND AS A TRIAGE TOOL IN THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF FOCAL LIVER LESIONS
Keywords:
focal liver lesions, ultrasound, color Doppler imaging, elastography, contrast-enhanced ultrasoundAbstract
Focal liver lesions are found ever more often as incidental findings on routine abdominal ultrasound. Most of them are benign, such as simple cysts, hemangiomas and focal nodular hyperplasia. However, hepatocellular carcinoma and metastases may look very similar at first examination. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) resolves most of these doubts, but it is expensive and not available everywhere. Clear criteria are therefore needed to decide which lesions can be followed with ultrasound alone and which require MRI.
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References
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