Diagnostic value of ultrasound assisted elastography combined with acoustic palpation tissue imaging quantification technique for superficial mass

  Objective  To investigate the diagnostic value of ultrasound assisted elastic imaging combined with acoustic palpation tissue imaging quantification technique in superficial soft tissue mass.

  Methods  A total of 120 patients with superficial soft-tissue masses (154 masses) were selected as study subjects, and 122 tumors were confirmed to be benign and 32 malignant by biopsy or surgical pathology. Based on the pathological results, the diagnostic efficacy of ultrasound-assisted elastography alone, acoustic palpation tissue imaging quantification aloneand their combination for superficial soft tissue masses were observed and compared.

  Results  Among 154 superficial soft tissue masses, 107 benign and 20 malignant tumors were detected by ultrasound assisted elastography, with diagnostic sensitivity of 62.50%, specificity of 87.70%, positive predictive value of 57.14%, negative predictive value of 89.92%, accuracy of 82.47%. A total of 110 benign and 24 malignant tumors were detected by acoustic palpation tissue imaging, with diagnostic sensitivity of 75.00%, specificity of 90.16%, positive predictive value of 66.67%, negative predictive value of 93.22%, and accuracy of 87.01%. A total of 117 benign and 30 malignant tumors were detected by ultrasound assisted elastography combined with acoustic palpation tissue imaging quantitative technology, with diagnostic sensitivity of 93.75%, specificity of 95.90%, positive predictive value of 85.71%, negative predictive value of 98.32%, and accuracy of 95.45%. The combined application of ultrasound assisted elastography and acoustic palpation tissue imaging quantitative techniques had higher diagnostic efficacy for superficial soft tissue masses than their application alone (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Ultrasound-assisted elastography combined with acoustic palpation tissue imaging has a high diagnostic efficiency in diagnosing superficial tissue mass, which can be used as an effective method for clinical diagnosis of superficial soft tissue mass and provides an accurate surport for treatment of this disease.