Background: There are a variety of space-occupying lesions of the kidney, and the benign lesions may be difficult to differentiate from the malignant ones. Therefore, an accurate judgment of the benign and malignant nature of the space-occupying lesions of the kidney is of high importance for the treatment and prognosis of these patients.
Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) combined with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in space-occupying lesions of the kidney.
Data and methods: Three hundred and sixty-seven patients with space-occupying lesions of the kidney (378 lesions) were examined by CEUS and CECT, respectively, then, a combined diagnosis was made after the combination of CEUS and CECT by a multidisciplinary team. The diagnoses from the three methods were compared. The pathological results were taken as the gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated for the three methods. Thus, the diagnostic value of the three methods was assessed.
Results: Of the 378 lesions examined, there were 301 malignant lesions and 77 benign lesions. The combined examination revealed 303 malignant lesions, with 9 benign lesions mistakenly diagnosed as malignant ones; thus, the misdiagnosis rate was 11.7%. By using the combined examination, 75 benign lesions were diagnosed, with the missed diagnosis of 7 malignant lesions, so the missed diagnosis rate was 2.3%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and area under the ROC curve with the combined examination of CEUS and CECT were 97.67% (0.950–0.989), 88.31% (0.785–0.942), 97.03% (0.942–0.985), 90.67% (0.811–0.958) and 0.930 (0.887–0.973), respectively. As compared with either CEUS or CECT alone, the difference in these indicators was of statistical significance (P <0.05). The combined examination greatly improved the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the diagnosis of the space-occupying lesions of the kidney.
Conclusion: CEUS and CECT each have advantages and disadvantages in the diagnosis of the space-occupying lesions of the kidney. The two techniques can be used in combination to compensate for the respective defects. More salient benefits can be reaped from the combined examination than from either technique used alone.
Keywords: space-occupying lesions of the kidney, CEUS, CECT, combined diagnosis