Impact of region-of-interest size and location on quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasound of canine splenic perfusion

BMC Veterinary Research

Rosalia Crupi¹  Francesco Macrì¹  Annastella Falcone¹  Simona Morabito¹  Simona Di Pietro¹  Luigi Liotta¹  Luca Cicero²  Giovanni Cassata² 

[1] Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168, Messina, Italy;Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Via Gino Marinuzzi 3, 90100, Palermo, Italy;

关键词: Coefficient of variation;    Perfusion-related parameters;    Dog;    Spleen;    Sonovue;    Qontrast;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12917-021-02973-z

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDuring contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), the features of the regions of interest (ROI) can affect the value of the perfusion-related parameters obtained from a time intensity curve (TIC). In veterinary medicine, conflicting have been reported on the influence of ROI size and location on renal CEUS. There are some disagreeing evidences regarding the optimal method for selecting ROI in quantitative analysis of renal perfusion using CEUS.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the size and location of ROIs in the spleen of conscious dogs on perfusion variables determined using sulphur hexafluoride contrast-enhanced ultrasounds.ResultsA prospective observational study on 15 client-owned mixed-breed adult dogs was performed using a system equipped with contrast-tuned imaging technology. Qualitative and quantitative assessments of the spleen enhancement pattern were carried out. Three square ROIs (0.05 cm2) were manually drawn in a row and spaced 1 mm apart, placing adjacent ROIs at three different depths. Three medium rectangular ROIs (0.3 cm2) include the 3 smallest ROIs in each row, indicated by the letters A, B and C, and a single large square ROI (1 cm2) was drawn containing all previous ROIs. Software analysis of time-intensity curves generated within each ROI allowed us to calculate the perfusion-related parameters: peak enhancement, time to peak, regional blood flow, mean transit time and regional blood volume.The coefficient of variation for all blood-related parameters was always lower in the larger ROI than in the other smaller ROIs. ROI A and B, positioned proximally and medially, levels respectively, showed similar coefficients of variation to the largest ROI. The analysis of variance model exhibited a significant effect of location and size of the ROIs in the quantitative analysis of canine spleen perfusion, with a reduction of perfusion-related parameters in the distal ROI.ConclusionsThe recommendation for a quantitative CEUS examination of a dog’s spleen is to analyze splenic perfusion by drawing a sufficiently large ROI proximal to the ultrasound beam on the splenic parenchyma. This may be of clinical relevance in the diagnosis of splenic diseases.

【 授权许可】

CC BY