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The aims of this prospective study were to test the feasibility of assessing neovascularization with power Doppler ultrasonography and to investigate its usefulness to follow fracture healing of long bones in dogs and cats. A total of 51 patients (44 dogs and seven cats) were followed. Fracture types differed from simple to comminuted. Therapy ranged from external coaptation to plate osteosynthesis. Patients were followed with radiography, B-mode real time and power Doppler ultrasonography every 2–4 weeks until the fracture was healed. All fractures healed uneventfully. A semi-quantitative numerical score based on signal intensity, vessel area, and number of Doppler signals was assigned and the mean value was used to compare patients and examinations. Time postoperatively was divided into periods of 10 days. No Doppler signal was present during the first 10 days. The mean of the scores was highest between 11 and 20 days postoperatively and the median of the scores peaked between 21 and 30 days. A gradual decrease was seen thereafter. The mean of the scores was zero at 71–80 days and the median at 51–60 days postoperatively for the grouped results. In all positive power Doppler examinations, signals were present in and close to the callus. In seven patients (five dogs and two cats) signals were also present in the peripheral soft tissues in one of the follow up examinations. The normal healing process of fractured bones can be visualized using power Doppler ultrasonography and follows a distinctive time-dependent pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aim: To evaluate the characterization of liver hemangiomas and malignant tumors using power Doppler sonography before and after intravenous injection of a sonocontrast agent. Methods: Forty-five patients with 57 liver tumors (22 hemangiomas, 24 metastases, 10 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and one cholangiocellular carcinoma) were examined prospectively. The distribution (peripheral, central, mosaic) and extent (none, minimal, moderate and strong) of intratumoral flow pattern in each sonographic examination was subjectively classified. Results: The administration of the sonocontrast agent by bolus injection caused enhancement to gradually increase up to 2 min and lasted for 4–5 min. After injection of contrast agent, flow signals appeared or increased in 34 tumors. No signal enhancement was observed in 18 hemangiomas, four metastases and one HCC. The sensitivity and specificity of intratumoral vascularity for the detection of malignant liver tumors was 37.1 and 90.9% for unenhanced power Doppler sonography, and 85.7 and 81.8% for contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography, respectively. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography is superior to unenhanced power Doppler sonography in the demonstration of malignant tumor vascularity, and is helpful in differentiating between hemangiomas and malignant liver tumors. A specific flow pattern within the tumor is not established in primary and metastatic malignant tumors with contrast-enhanced power Doppler sonography. © 2003 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To correlate the findings of power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) of the prostate with those of site‐specific transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)‐guided biopsy. Patients and methods The study comprised 28 patients referred to our institution for TRUS‐guided prostate biopsy because of an elevated PSA level and/or abnormal digital rectal examination. PDUS findings were graded 0, 1 or 2; grades 0–1 were considered as negative and grade 2 as positive. The blood volume of each biopsy site was also determined using the mean number (MN) value that represents the average vascularity in a 5‐mm square sample. PDUS values were correlated with the histological findings of 147 biopsies with 19 focal lesions. Results Grade 2 was assigned to 19 sites, grade 1 to 52 sites, and grade 0 to 76 sites. Fourteen of the 19 PDUS findings of grade 2 sites revealed carcinoma and five were grade 1. Ten of 35 TRUS‐positive sites were carcinomas, three benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 22 normal. The MN value for prostatic carcinoma was 4.33, for BPH 11.7 and for normal tissue 4.7. The overall sensitivity of PDUS was 74%, the specificity 96% and the positive predictive value 74%. Conclusions Because TRUS alone cannot detect all cancers, PDUS should be used routinely in all patients undergoing TRUS‐guided biopsy, to improve the diagnostic yield of prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]