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Application of Intraoperative Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in the Resection of Brain Tumors

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the value of routine intraoperative ultrasound (IU) and intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (ICEUS) in the surgical treatment of brain tumors, and to explore the utilization of ICEUS for the removal of the remnants surrounding the resection cavity.

Methods

In total, 51 patients who underwent operations from 2012 to 2018 due to different tumors in the brain were included in this study. The clinical data were evaluated retrospectively. IU was performed in all patients, among which 28 patients underwent ICEUS. The effects of IU and ICEUS on tumor resection and recurrence were evaluated. Semiquantitative analysis was performed to compare ICEUS parameters of the brain tumor with those of the surrounding tissue.

Results

In total, 36 male and 15 female patients were included in this study. The average age was 43 years (range: 14–68 years). The follow-up period was from 7 to 74 months (mean follow-up 32 months). IU was used in all patients, and no lesion was missed. Among them, 28 patients underwent ICEUS. The rate of total removal of the ICEUS group (23/28, 82%) was significantly higher than that of the IU group (11/23, 48%) (P<0.05). The recurrence rate of ICEUS and IU was 18% (5/23), and 22% (5/28), respectively, and the difference did not reach statistical significance (P>0.05). The semiquantitative analysis showed that the intensity and the transit time of microbubbles reaching the lesions were significantly different from the intensity and the transit time of microbubbles reaching the surrounding tissue (P<0.05) and reflected indirectly the volume and the speed of blood perfusion in the lesions was higher than those in the surrounding tissue.

Conclusion

ICEUS is a useful tool in localizing and outlining brain lesions, especially for the resection of the hypervascular lesions in the brain. ICEUS could be more beneficial for identifying the remnants and improving the rate of total removal of these lesions than routine intraoperative ultrasound.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Ultrasound, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

    An-yu Tao

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

    Xu Chen, Ling-yun Zhang, Yong Chen, Dan Cao, Zheng-qian Guo & Jian Chen

Authors
  1. An-yu Tao
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  2. Xu Chen
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  3. Ling-yun Zhang
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  4. Yong Chen
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  5. Dan Cao
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  6. Zheng-qian Guo
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  7. Jian Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xu Chen.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

This work was supported by the foundation of Tongji Hospital (No. 2020JZKT292).

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Tao, Ay., Chen, X., Zhang, Ly. et al. Application of Intraoperative Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in the Resection of Brain Tumors. CURR MED SCI 42, 169–176 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-022-2538-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-022-2538-z

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