Background: To date, no study has compared unenhanced and contrast-enhanced (Levovist) power Doppler ultrasound with three-phase helical computed tomography (CT) for the analysis of the vascularization of hepatic lesions in patients who have alveolar echinococcosis.
Methods: Fifteen patients (11 female and four male; average age, 45.8 years) with confirmed Echinococcus multilocularis infection underwent unenhanced and contrast-enhanced (Levovist) power Doppler ultrasound (2- to 5-MHz transducer head) and three-phase helical CT. The largest identified lesion in each patient was studied.
Results: CT visualized vascularization peripheral or central to the largest echinococcal lesions in 11 of 15 patients. Vascularization in the area of the echinococcal lesions was not visualized by unenhanced or contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound in any of the 15 patients studied.
Conclusion: Three-phase helical CT visualizes the vascularization associated with Echinococcus multilocularis lesions in the liver. Neither unenhanced nor contrast-enhanced ultrasound in power mode is suitable for this application.