Radiofrequency Ablation for XXXX : Utility of Conventional Ultrasound and Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Guiding and Assessing Early Therapeutic Response and Short-Term Follow-Up Results.

@entity1 @entity157 @entity5 @entity422
UNASSIGNED: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in guiding and assessing early therapeutic response to radiofrequency (RF) ablation for @entity157 ( @entity157 ; up to 3 lesions, each  <=3 cm in diameter) and to report the short-term follow-up results. Between September 2011 and January 2013, 63 @entity1 with 78 @entity157 ( <=3 cm) underwent conventional US- and CEUS-guided percutaneous RF ablation. CEUS was repeated after 20-30 min to assess therapeutic response, and local efficacy was further confirmed by contrast-enhanced @entity422 mo after @entity5 ablation. @entity1 were followed periodically to look for @entity5 or disease progression. Survival probability was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Complete ablation was achieved for 76 (97.4%) of 78 @entity157 in one (n  = 73) or two (n  = 3) sessions. No major complications were observed in any @entity1 . The overall concordance in assessment of therapeutic efficacy of RF ablation between CEUS and MRI was 97.4% (76/78 @entity5 ). The concordance test gave a value of k  = 0.74 (p < 0.001), indicating that CEUS had a high diagnostic agreement with MRI. During a mean follow-up of 20 mo, the @entity5 progression rate was 5.3% (4/76 @entity5 ). The 1-, 1.5- and 2-y cumulative survival rates were 98.4%, 96.1% and 92.6%, respectively. Although CEUS has some intrinsic limitations, the combined use of conventional US and CEUS provides a safe and efficient tool to guide RF ablation for @entity157 3 cm or smaller, with encouraging results in terms of survival rate and minimal complications. Moreover, the immediate post-procedural CEUS can be a reliable alternative to contrast-enhanced MRI for assessing the early therapeutic response to RF ablation.
