[Clinical values of color doppler ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography in diagnosis of the tumor emboli and thrombi in portal venous system].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical values of color Doppler ultrasound (BUS?) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in diagnosis of the tumor emboli and thrombi in portal venous system.

METHODS

Examination of the portal venous system by BUS and MRA was conducted on 165 patients with undergoing liver transplantation because of cirrhosis or primary hepatic carcinoma before the operation. The extrahepatic portal vein was observed during operation and pathological examination was conducted after the operation. The results of BUS and MRA were compared as regards the sensitivity and specificity in discovering the tumor emboli and thrombi in portal venous system.

RESULTS

The overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive rate of BUS for the portal vein embolus were 86.5%, 97.4%, and 85.3% respectively. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive rate of MRA for the portal vein embolus were 90.5%, 99.3%, and 95.7% respectively. However the accuracy in diagnosing the nature of the portal venous embolus was less than 70% for these 2 methods.

CONCLUSION

Non-invasive, both BUS and MRA help discover the portal vein embolus. However, false positivity and false negativity still exist. And both fail to diagnose the nature of the portal venous embolus.