Monitoring of low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions with targeted abdominal ultrasound: diagnostic yield, clinical utility, and acceptance.

IF 2.4 3区医学 Q2 RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING

Ultrasonography Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-10 DOI:10.14366/usg.25187

Eva Marín-Serrano, Laura Tello Arnas, Ángelo Gámez-Pozo, Pedro Lalanda-Delgado, Lucía Trilla-Fuertes, Antonio Olveira-Martín, José Manuel Iturzaeta Sánchez, Nuria Saturio Galán, María Dolores Martín-Arranz

{"title":"Monitoring of low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions with targeted abdominal ultrasound: diagnostic yield, clinical utility, and acceptance.","authors":"Eva Marín-Serrano, Laura Tello Arnas, Ángelo Gámez-Pozo, Pedro Lalanda-Delgado, Lucía Trilla-Fuertes, Antonio Olveira-Martín, José Manuel Iturzaeta Sánchez, Nuria Saturio Galán, María Dolores Martín-Arranz","doi":"10.14366/usg.25187","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the utility of targeted abdominal ultrasound (TAUS) for follow-up of low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs), assessing diagnostic performance, agreement with advanced imaging, patient acceptance, clinical usefulness, and contribution of structured reporting.Methods: This prospective study included 120 patients with low-risk PCLs previously characterized by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography or endoscopic ultrasound. TAUS was performed using a wideband convex matrix probe (1.8-6.2 MHz) and a structured protocol documenting lesion location, size, morphology (septa, mural nodules), and relation to the main pancreatic duct. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was used in selected cases. Outcomes included agreement with reference imaging (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]), patient preference, and perceived usefulness.Results: TAUS enabled complete pancreatic visualization in 80.0% of patients and overall detection rate in 88.3%. Detection varied by location (P=0.028), highest in the body (94.5%) and lowest in the tail (68.0%). Agreement for maximal cyst diameter was excellent (ICC, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.971 to 0.986), with 90.8% of measurements within ±20% of the reference modality. When B-mode was suboptimal, CEUS was used in 2.5% of cases and improved delineation of architecture (mural nodules, septations). Limitations included low detection of multifocal disease (11.1%) and restricted assessment of ductal communication (46.6%). TAUS was clinically useful in 78.0% and preferred by patients when characterization was adequate (88.3%).Conclusion: TAUS is a promising noninvasive imaging tool for monitoring low-risk PCLs in favorable acoustic windows, showing high diagnostic accuracy, excellent agreement with advanced imaging, and strong patient acceptance. Its diagnostic performance is limited in multifocal, complex, or tail-located lesions.","PeriodicalId":54227,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasonography","volume":"45 2","pages":"107-118"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12971164/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ultrasonography","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.14366/usg.25187","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/11/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the utility of targeted abdominal ultrasound (TAUS) for follow-up of low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs), assessing diagnostic performance, agreement with advanced imaging, patient acceptance, clinical usefulness, and contribution of structured reporting.

Methods: This prospective study included 120 patients with low-risk PCLs previously characterized by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography or endoscopic ultrasound. TAUS was performed using a wideband convex matrix probe (1.8-6.2 MHz) and a structured protocol documenting lesion location, size, morphology (septa, mural nodules), and relation to the main pancreatic duct. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was used in selected cases. Outcomes included agreement with reference imaging (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]), patient preference, and perceived usefulness.

Results: TAUS enabled complete pancreatic visualization in 80.0% of patients and overall detection rate in 88.3%. Detection varied by location (P=0.028), highest in the body (94.5%) and lowest in the tail (68.0%). Agreement for maximal cyst diameter was excellent (ICC, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.971 to 0.986), with 90.8% of measurements within ±20% of the reference modality. When B-mode was suboptimal, CEUS was used in 2.5% of cases and improved delineation of architecture (mural nodules, septations). Limitations included low detection of multifocal disease (11.1%) and restricted assessment of ductal communication (46.6%). TAUS was clinically useful in 78.0% and preferred by patients when characterization was adequate (88.3%).

Conclusion: TAUS is a promising noninvasive imaging tool for monitoring low-risk PCLs in favorable acoustic windows, showing high diagnostic accuracy, excellent agreement with advanced imaging, and strong patient acceptance. Its diagnostic performance is limited in multifocal, complex, or tail-located lesions.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

目标腹部超声监测低风险胰腺囊性病变：诊断率、临床应用和接受度。

目的：本研究旨在评估靶向腹部超声（TAUS）在低风险胰腺囊性病变（PCLs）随访中的应用，评估诊断表现、与先进成像的一致性、患者接受程度、临床实用性以及结构化报告的贡献。方法：这项前瞻性研究纳入了120例低风险pcl患者，这些患者之前曾接受过磁共振胆管造影或内窥镜超声检查。TAUS采用宽带凸矩阵探头（1.8-6.2 MHz）和结构化方案，记录病变位置、大小、形态（间隔、壁结节）以及与主胰管的关系。选择病例采用对比增强超声（CEUS）。结果包括与参考影像的一致性（类内相关系数[ICC]）、患者偏好和感知有用性。结果：TAUS使80.0%的患者胰腺完全可见，总检出率为88.3%。不同部位的检出率不同（P=0.028），其中身体检出率最高（94.5%），尾巴检出率最低（68.0%）。最大囊肿直径的一致性非常好（ICC, 0.98； 95%可信区间，0.971 ~ 0.986），90.8%的测量值在参考模态的±20%以内。当b模式不理想时，2.5%的病例使用超声造影，并改善建筑（壁结节，分隔）的描绘。局限性包括多灶性疾病的低检出率（11.1%）和导管通信的受限评估（46.6%）。78.0%的患者在临床上是有用的，当特征充分时，患者更喜欢TAUS（88.3%）。结论：TAUS是一种很有前途的无创成像工具，用于监测低风险的pcl，在有利的声学窗口，具有很高的诊断准确性，与先进的成像非常一致，并且患者接受度高。它的诊断性能是有限的多灶，复杂的，或尾部病变。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Ultrasonography Medicine-Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

6.50%

发文量

审稿时长

15 weeks

期刊介绍： Ultrasonography, the official English-language journal of the Korean Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (KSUM), is an international peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to practice, research, technology, and education dealing with medical ultrasound. It is renamed from the Journal of Korean Society of Ultrasound in Medicine in January 2014, and published four times per year: January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Original articles, technical notes, topical reviews, perspectives, pictorial essays, and timely editorial materials are published in Ultrasonography covering state-of-the-art content. Ultrasonography aims to provide updated information on new diagnostic concepts and technical developments, including experimental animal studies using new equipment in addition to well-designed reviews of contemporary issues in patient care. Along with running KSUM Open, the annual international congress of KSUM, Ultrasonography also serves as a medium for cooperation among physicians and specialists from around the world who are focusing on various ultrasound technology and disease problems and relevant basic science.