High-Resolution Ultrasound Including Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) for the Detection of Gas Formation during @entity54 Infection in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity738 @entity19 @entity9809 @entity54
UNASSIGNED: Purpose: A. fumigatus infections represent a major threat for @entity1 with a suppressed immune system. Early diagnosis is of importance for a favorable outcome but appears to be difficult due to limited diagnostic procedures. Here we investigated the sensitivity of high-resolution ultrasound (HRU) for the detection of A. fumigatus infection in the liver. Materials and Methods: BALB/c @entity19 were intravenously infected with A. fumigatus and monitored by HRU, Doppler sonography (CCDS), contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), and real-time strain color-coded elastography (CCE) using a multi-frequency probe (6-15MHz). Contrast media bolus injection of @entity9809 micro-bubbles was applied and digital cine-loops from the arterial phase, as well as the portal venous phase up to the late phase of the whole liver were analyzed. All data were correlated to the histopathological findings. Results: Using HRU and CEUS, a sonic shadow was detected in all infected animals. All @entity54 -infected nodes from 3-6mm in the liver showed a shadow with rim enhancement and no intranodal enhancement when using CEUS.A. fumigatus infection was confirmed by CFU assessment and histopathological analysis. @entity738 were not associated with shadowing on B-mode. In contrast, @entity738 with a diameter above 5mm and a higher stiffness in CCE generated particularly an arterial rim enhancement and portal venous washout without contrast media uptake in the late phase. In addition, CEUS was able to define dynamic capillary microvascularization of infected liver areas. Conclusion: Liver lesions associated with A. fumigatus infection can be detected in @entity19 when combined with CEUS and CCE in vivo.
