Affiliation:
1. Department of Internal Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Lubbock Texas USA
2. Department of Internal Medicine University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Nebraska USA
3. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department of Internal Medicine University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Nebraska USA
4. McGoogan Library of Medicine University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha Nebraska USA
5. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine Faculty of Medicine Prince of Songkla University Songkhla Thailand
6. Medical Data Center for Research and Innovation Faculty of Medicine Prince of Songkla University Songkhla Thailand
Abstract
AbstractIntroductionHepatic artery occlusion (HAO) is a significant complication post‐liver transplantation. Doppler ultrasound (DUS) has been widely used as an initial screening test for detecting HAO; however, its performance is often not sufficient. Although other diagnostic tests such as computed tomography angiography (CTA), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and angiogram are more accurate, they are invasive and have several limitations. Contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an emerging tool for detecting HAO; however, the results from previous studies were limited due to a small number of patients. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate its performance by performing a meta‐analysis.MethodWe performed a systemic review and meta‐analysis of studies evaluating the performance of CEUS for the detection of HAO in an adult population. A literature search of EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, and Medline was conducted through March 2022. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, log diagnostic odd ratio (LDOR), and area under summary receiver operating curve (AUC) were calculated. Publication bias was assessed by Deeks’ funnel plot.ResultEight studies were included, with 434 CEUS performed. Using a combination of CTA, MRA, angiography, clinical follow‐up, and surgery as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and LDOR of CEUS for detection of HAO were .969 (.938, .996), .991 (.981, 1.001), and 5.732 (4.539, 6.926), respectively. AUC was .959. The heterogeneity between studies appeared universally low, and no significant publication bias was found (p = .44).ConclusionCEUS appeared to have an excellent performance for the detection of HAO and could be considered as an alternative when DUS is non‐diagnostic or when CTA, MRA, and angiogram are not feasible.