DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF DOPPLER ULTRASOUND IN DETECTION OF PORTAL VEIN THROMBOSIS IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Abstract

Objective: To determine diagnostic accuracy of Doppler ultrasound in detection of portal vein thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma keeping findings on multi-detector Computed tomography as the gold standard.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Radiology Department, Hayatabad Medical Complex, and Peshawar from November 2019 to April 2020. 129 known cases of hepatocellular carcinoma were subjected to Doppler ultrasound to detect portal vein thrombus. Thrombus detected was carefully examined for internal color signals.  After that all patients were subjected to multi-detector computed tomography to detect the presence or absence of portal vein thrombus.

Results: The mean age of patients in our study was 56 ±8 years. The frequency of portal vein thrombosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was 28%. Color Doppler sonography had 89.3% sensitivity and 95.8% specificity in detection of portal vein thrombosis in comparison with multidetector computed tomography. For the detection of arterial flow in the thrombus (malignant thrombus) its sensitivity and specificity were 80.7% and 100% respectively.

Conclusion: Color Doppler sonography is an effective, non-invasive and radiation free method in detecting and evaluating the nature of portal vein thrombosis in HCC.