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Current Issue
Vol. 8, No. 1 Published: 30 March 2024

CONTENTS

Review Articles

  • Application Progress of Ultrasound Elastography in the Evaluation of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
  • Siqi Zheng, MM, Min Bai, MM
  • 2024, 8 (1): 1-6. DOI:10.37015/AUDT.2024.230006
  • Abstract ( 56 ) HTML ( 6 ) PDF ( 69 )   
  • Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes, which can lead to neuropathic pain, foot ulcers, and even disability, and greatly reduces survival. Therefore, early diagnosis and prevention of DPN is of great importance to reduce symptoms and disability rate. Ultrasound elastography is a noninvasive method to evaluate changes in nerve tissue composition by obtaining the elastic modulus of tissue and visually displaying the stiffness in the form of images. This paper summarizes the application progress of ultrasound elastography in the evaluation of peripheral neuropathy in recent years, in order to provide reference for the future clinical application of large samples.

Original Research

  • Clinical Application of Ultrasound Tomography in Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Diseases
  • Cong Wei, MD, Hui Zhang, PhD, Tao Ying, MD, Bing Hu, MD, Yini Chen, MD, Hongtao Li, MD, Qiude Zhang, PhD, Mingyue Ding, PhD, Jie Chen, MD, Ming Yuchi, PhD, Yuanyi Zheng, MD
  • 2024, 8 (1): 7-14. DOI:10.37015/AUDT.2024.230060
  • Abstract ( 92 ) HTML ( 7 ) PDF ( 117 )   
  • Objective To evaluate the feasibility and capability of UT in detecting musculoskeletal system lesions in the limbs and to explore its image quality.

    Materials and Methods The Institutional Review Board has approved this prospective single-center study. This study included participants with various musculoskeletal and neurologic disorders in the limbs who provided written consent from October 2022 to April 2023. In addition to other radiological examinations (X-rays, CT, or MRI) and conventional handheld ultrasound scans requested by clinicians based on the conditions, each participant also underwent UT scanning using our developed limb ultrasound imaging system during the same period. Four radiologists and ultrasound physicians with more than five years of experience in musculoskeletal diagnostics analyzed the two-dimensional and three-dimensional images of the examination area.

    Results Overall, 50 participants were evaluated (mean age, 36 years ± 18 [SD]; 26 males). The conditions included musculoskeletal tumors (n = 10), postoperative follow-up of musculoskeletal tumors (n = 20), peripheral nerve disorders in the limbs (n = 10) and postoperative pain in orthopedic surgery (n = 10). In all UT images, the region of interest was completely displayed, and internal structures such as muscles and nerves were clearly visible. Compared to conventional ultrasound images, the reconstructed three-dimensional images intuitively displayed the relationship between the lesions and surrounding tissues. Furthermore, UT did not exhibit metal artifacts when observing soft tissues around metallic implants, providing more comprehensive soft tissue information and more intuitive stereoscopic images.

    Conclusion Clinical results of the UT system have demonstrated its feasibility as an automated and standardized imaging technique for musculoskeletal imaging, providing a new imaging modality for the diagnosis of musculoskeletal diseases in the human body.

  • Diagnostic Utility of Superb Microvascular Imaging of ultrasound Examinations to Evaluate Hepatic Ischemia-reperfusion Injury
  • Guoying Zhang, MD, Ying Tang, BS, Mingyang Wang, MD, Weina Kong, MD
  • 2024, 8 (1): 15-21. DOI:10.37015/AUDT.2024.230010
  • Abstract ( 55 ) HTML ( 3 ) PDF ( 75 )   
  • Objective To investigate the effectiveness of SMI in evaluating hepatic IRI and detecting its therapy response.

    Methods Thirty rats were randomly divided into sham (n = 12), IRI (n = 12), and andrographolide pretreatment (n = 6) groups. SMI, pathological, and biochemical examinations were conducted for the sham and IRI groups at 4 (n = 6) and 24 h (n = 6) after reperfusion, respectively. Two ultrasonologists measured the vascular index (VI). The interobserver agreement was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The rat liver parameters, including Suzuki's score, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), were obtained at different time steps in each group. For the andrographolide pretreatment group, data were obtained at 24 h after reperfusion to further verify the advantage of VI. Parameters were analyzed for correlations and compared between each group at 4 and 24 h.

    Results The ICC between two ultrasonologists who measured the VI was 0.912 (95%CI: 0.889-0.940). Suzuki's score and VI were negatively correlated (r = -0.504, P = 0.012). Compared with the sham group, the IRI group showed a significant decrease in the VI at 4 and 24 h after reperfusion [(24.78 ± 3.23) versus (20.22 ± 2.55); (22.67 ± 1.36) versus (19.27 ± 2.23), P < 0.05)]. The VI in the andrographolide pretreatment group was higher than that in the IRI group [(21.90 ± 1.47) versus (19.27 ± 2.23), P <0.05].

    Conclusions The VI on SMI can be used as a noninvasive and sensitive index to evaluate hepatic IRI and detect its therapeutic response.

  • Identification of Differently Expressed miRNAs and Genes between Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer
  • Yuqing Huang, MD, Cui Lei, BS, Xinyu Zhao, PhD, Jing Xiao, PhD, Xian-Quan Shi, PhD
  • 2024, 8 (1): 22-28. DOI:10.37015/AUDT.2024.230044
  • Abstract ( 47 ) HTML ( 3 ) PDF ( 64 )   
  • Objective MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in various diseases’ development and progression. The aim of this study is to identify the differently expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and differently expressed genes (DEGs) between BPH and PCa.

    Methods Selecting BPH and PCa tissues from GEO database (GSE118038 as test dataset; GSE30994 as validation dataset), we identified DEmiRNAs and DEGs between BPH and PCa using GEO2R online tool and “Deseq2” R package. We applied random forest method to select hub DEmiRNAs, combining age and BMI, to establish a nomogram model for BPH detection. Finally, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted to explore the underlying mechanisms and pathways of DEmiRNAs in BPH.

    Results We found 26 DEmiRNAs between BPH and PCa, of which 21 DEmiRNAs were up-regulated and 5 DEmiRNAs were down-regulated. Via forest random method, we selected miR-636, miR-324-3p, miR-210-3p and miR-3615 as hub DEmiRNAs in BPH. Combing these four hub DEmiRNAs, age and BMI, we established a nomogram model to distinguish BPH from PCa. Through “miRWalk” online tool, we targeted 499 hub DEGs between BPH and PCa, and found most of genes enriched in muscle system process, muscle contraction, contractile fiber, myofibril, actin binding, passive transmembrane transporter activity, focal adhesion, axon guidance.

    Conclusion Our results suggested that miR-636, miR-324-3p, miR-210-3p and miR-3615 might the hub DEmiRNAs between BPH and PCa, which may play a crucial role to distinguish BPH from PCa.

Case Reports

  • Benign Cystic Teratoma of Maldescended Ovary: a Rare Ultrasound Case Report
  • Ashraf Talaat Youssef, PhD
  • 2024, 8 (1): 29-31. DOI:10.37015/AUDT.2024.230035
  • Abstract ( 42 ) HTML ( 2 ) PDF ( 68 )   
  • The ovaries are normally situated on the lateral aspect of the uterus in a shallow depression called an ovarian fossa. Maldescended ovaries occur when the ovary has not been localized in an intrapelvic location. Maldescended ovaries can be found with a normal uterus and more often with Mullerian duct abnormalities. There is no established association between ovarian tumors and maldescended ovaries. The present case report is a very rare case of mature cystic teratoma of a maldescended right ovary located within the subhepatic region. To bring this into focus in cases with an abnormal dermoid cyst site in a female. The patient should be carefully evaluated for ovarian sites and the possibility of maldescended ovaries should be taken into account. The maldescended ovaries with complicated cysts or with tumor should be included in the differential diagnosis of causes of abdominal pain in females.

  • The Role of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Systemic Sarcoidosis: a Case Report and Literature Review
  • Hui Li, MD, Nan Zheng, MD, Penglin Zou, MD, Chao Jia, MD, Long Liu, MD, Gang Li, MD, Ziqi Wang, MD, Rong Wu, MD, Lianfang Du, MD, Qiusheng Shi, MD
  • 2024, 8 (1): 32-38. DOI:10.37015/AUDT.2024.230054
  • Abstract ( 39 ) HTML ( 4 ) PDF ( 51 )   
  • Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that can involve various organs and tissues. The clinical manifestations vary greatly, so it is difficult to make a clear diagnosis of sarcoidosis with just the clinical manifestation and imaging findings. The diagnosis and treatment of a patient with systemic sarcoidosis was reported: a 51-year-old woman presented with a dry cough. Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and conventional ultrasonography (US) suggested miliary nodules and inflammatory changes in the lungs, there was mediastinal, retroperitoneal and hilar lymph node enlargement and uneven liver echo, respectively. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) further suggested that the lesions were distributed throughout the body, including the lymph nodes and muscles of the extremities; thus, systemic lymphoma was considered. Finally, ultrasound-guided biopsy of different sites yielded the same histopathological findings: sarcoidosis. The sarcoidosis in this case is characterized by a large number of involved sites with a wide range, and a variety of imaging data were complete but failed to suggest a diagnosis. Finally, a clear histopathological result was obtained under the guidance of ultrasound. This article reviewed the relevant literature and concluded that ultrasound-guided puncture to obtain histopathological results is a simple and effective method for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

Editorial Commentary

Open Access, Peer-reviewed

ISSN 2576-2516 (Online)

ISSN 2576-2508 (Print)

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