Objective: To evaluate the application of ultrasound (US) for the surgical intervention in patients with moderate and severe secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), and to identify the risk of prolonged hypocalcemia after parathyroidectomy (PTX).
Methods: A consecutive series of moderate and severe SHPT patients (n = 64) underwent ultrasound evaluation of parathyroid glands. Among the 64 patients who received 6-month medication therapies, ten patients with parathyroid hormone (PTH) 300~500 pg/mL were excluded from the study while 32 patients unresponsive to medication therapy (PTH > 500 pg/mL) received surgical interventions and 22 patients with PTH < 300 pg/mL received medication treatment alone. The correlations between the number, location, volume, sonographic features of parathyroid glands (PTGs), laboratory examinations, the duration of dialysis and the surgical necessity were analyzed. Total parathyroidectomy with synchronous auto-transplantation (PTX + AT) was performed in the surgical group. In both the surgical and medication group, patients with hyper-vascularity of the PTGs dominated (≥50%) were classified as a hyper-vascular subgroup, and the others as a hypo-vascular subgroup. The differences of post-operative calcium (Ca²⁺) levels and the incidence of prolonged hypocalcemia between hyper- and hypo- vascular subgroups were assessed.
Results: Sonographic evaluations revealed that the numbers of detectable PTGs were higher in the surgical group than that of the medication group (p < 0.05). The detection of supernumerary PTGs was higher in the surgical group than that in the medication group (13/121, 10.7% vs. 2/71, 2.8%, p < 0.05). Baseline PTH, >2 detectable PTGs, detection of supernumerary PTGs, patients with hyper-vascular, and the duration of dialysis were positively associated with the necessity of surgical intervention. For patients in the hyper-vascular subgroup, the serum Ca²⁺ level was lower than that in the hypo-vascularity subgroup (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Ultrasonic features can provide useful information for management of surgical intervention of SHPT and prediction of the risk of prolonged hypocalcemia after PXT.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of automated measurements by AutoEF (GE EchoPAC system, version 113) in left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) estimation based on the biplane Simpson’s method (manual method) in different clinical subsets.
Methods: A total of 322 subjects participated in this study (the common group). In the common group, 112 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) were divided into the CHD group, and 34 CHD patients with LV wall motion abnormalities (WMA) comprising the CHD group, renamed the WMA group. LV volumes and EF were assessed using both manual tracing and automated estimation. Time spent on each method was documented. The agreements in echocardiographic measurements by different methods were assessed by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis.
Results: The average analysis time of the automated method was 12 ± 1 s/patient with excellent repeatability. ICC revealed good consistency between manual and automated EF in all groups, especially in the CHD and WMA groups, although Bland-Altman analysis showed non-negligible bias in EF estimation between the two methods. ICC analysis showed a good correlation between automated and manual EF in all the good and poor image quality subgroups.
Conclusion: Automated method by AutoEF was a time-saving, excellent reproducible, and resistant to image interference approach, with a strong potential in left ventricular function measurements, especially for patients with CHD and/or WMA.

Objectives: To evaluate contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for guiding fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of suspicious thyroid nodules to obtain sufficient biopsy specimens.
Methods: A total of 236 uncertain thyroid nodules detected in 228 patients from October 2016 to March 2017 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed in this study. Overall, 117 patients underwent CEUS-guided FNA, and 111 patients underwent ultrasound (US)-guided FNA. The target for aspiration was only at the enhanced area in the CEUS group. In the US-guided group, aspiration was conducted within the nodule at various angles and areas. The final cytopathologic findings were reported using the Bethesda criteria. The inadequacy, indeterminacy, malignancy, and benignity rates of FNA specimens were compared between two groups.
Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, or nodule size between the two groups. The inadequacy rate in the CEUS group was significantly lower than that in the US group (P = 0.008). Twenty-two benign nodules were diagnosed using CEUS-guided FNA, whereas seven were diagnosed using US-guided FNA (P = 0.006). The indeterminacy and malignancy rates were similar for both groups.
Conclusions: CEUS-guided FNA improves the diagnostic success rate and reduces uncertainty by facilitating accurate biopsy of suspected thyroid nodules with microcirculation perfusion imaging.

Objectives: To explore the feasibility and efficacy of the segmental localization of lumbar vertebrae by ultrasound (US) compared with X-ray.
Methods: From February 2019 to May 2019, 43 patients (24 males and 19 females), with an average age of 46±15 years, were prospectively enrolled in this study. Longitudinal paramedian sagittal and transverse process sections were used to determine the lumbar segments by US scan. X-ray examination was used to verify the segmentation. The time for segmentation was recorded, and the learning curve of the average localization time was analyzed.
Results: Of all the enrolled patients, 5 had lumbar segmental and alignment abnormalities, and 38 had normal lumbar vertebrae. US accurately located vertebrae in 38 normal cases and 5 abnormal cases, with a 100% accuracy rate, as verified by X-ray examination. The localization time was significantly less for US than for X-ray examination, both in normal cases and in cases with segmental or alignment abnormalities (all P < 0.001). The learning curve of US-guided segmental localization continuously decreased with an increasing number of operations and entered the plateau stage after the third operation day.
Conclusions: The US-guided segmental localization of lumbar vertebrae is an accurate new method that is efficient and easy to learn and does not require radiation.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of three-dimensional ultrasound (3D-US) and automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) for the characterization of benign and malignant breast lesions.
Methods: Ninety patients who underwent surgery and preoperative conventional ultrasound (US), 3D-US, and ABVS examinations were enrolled in this study. The image quality and adjacent structures of the lesions in the coronal plane were compared. The combination of US, 3D-US, and ABVS for retraction phenomenon of the lesion was compared and the diagnostic performance of each combination was analyzed.
Results: ABVS displayed better image quality and adjacent structures than 3D-US (P < 0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.913, 0.842, and 0.871 for US, 3D-US, and ABVS, respectively. The AUC of the retraction phenomenon of the lesion was 0.732 and 0.810 for 3D-US and ABVS, respectively. When they were combined, US+ABVS showed the highest AUC of 0.924. No significant difference of diagnostic performances was found among conventional US, US+3D-US, and US+ABVS(P > 0.05).
Conclusions: Compared with 3D-US, ABVS seems to be superior in showing the retraction phenomenon of breast lesions and in the characterization of breast lesions alone or in combination with conventional US. Although no significant difference was observed between them, both ABVS and 3D-US provided valuable information in the coronal plane and improved our confidence level in breast lesion characterization, especially when combined with the conventional US.

Objective: Combining ultrasound parameters with patient’s clinical symptoms to explore the feasibility of improving the diagnostic coincidence rate of hyperthyroidism.
Methods: A total of 179 untreated patients with diffuse echogenic changes of the thyroid on ultrasound and abnormal laboratory examinations were enrolled this study. There were 119 cases of hyperthyroidism, 29 cases of subclinical hyperthyroidism, 26 cases of subclinical hypothyroidism, and 5 cases of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with clinically confirmed diagnosis. The thyroid volume, blood supply grade, peak velocity of the superior thyroid artery (STA) by ultrasound, heart rate (HR), and clinical symptoms was used to determine the optimal indicators for the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism, and to compare these indicators (study group) with the previous ultrasound criteria reported in the literature (control group).
Results: According to logistic regression analysis, from all the factors studied, hyperthyroidism symptoms had the most significant correlation with the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism (P = 0.001), followed by STA peak velocity (P = 0.005), HR (P = 0.009), echogenicity(P = 0.015)and blood flow Grade III (P = 0.041) in order of importance, the other factors include thyroid volume, blood flow Grade I and II were not correlated with the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism (P > 0.05). The diagnostic coincidence rate of hyperthyroidism by increased STA peak velocity was 85.7% (102/119), while the hyperthyroidism symptoms significantly increased the diagnostic coincidence rate to 95.8% (114/119). Comparing the study group to the control group, the area under the receiver operating curve (ROC) was 0.993 vs 0.899 (Z = 3.868, P = 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 89.92% vs. 68.91%, 96.67% vs. 96.67%, 92.18% vs. 78.21%, 98.17% vs. 97.62%, and 82.80% vs. 61.05%, respectively.
Conclusions: The optimal indicators for the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism is the presence of hyperthyroidism symptoms in untreated patients with diffuse echogenic changes of the thyroid, followed by increased STA peak velocity. This suggests that ultrasound doctors should carefully considerate clinical information and instead of just limited to ultrasound itself. By combining ultrasound parameters with the clinical manifestations of patients, the diagnostic coincidence rate can be truly improved.

Objective: To investigate the influence of liver function damage in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after microwave ablation (MWA) on the prognosis and to establish an algorithm to predict liver function damage.
Methods: This is a retrospective study. A total of 745 patients were enrolled and classified into the modeling group and the validation group. The risk factors of liver function damage were analyzed by using logistic regression model. The β coefficients derived from a logistic analysis were used to calculate the risk score. Diagnostic accuracy based on risk score was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC).
Results: 69 patients in the modeling group suffered from liver function damage. The 1-,3-,5- and 7-year progression free survival were 69.4%, 37.2%, 22.6% and 12.4% for patients without liver function damage and 69.5%, 33.0%, 14.4% and 0% for patients with liver function damage, respectively (P = 0.537). The 1-, 3-, 5- and 7-year overall survival were 94.3%, 75.9%, 61.5% and 54.5% for patients without liver function damage and 81.3%, 57.1%, 42.7% and 42.7% for those with liver function damage (P = 0.004), respectively. The AUC of the risk score for predicting liver function damage was 0.798 for the modeling group and 0.832 for the validation group. The sensitivity and specificity of the risk score to identify liver function damage was 65.2%, 84.4% in the modeling group and 60.6%, 88.3% in the validation group, respectively.
Conclusion: Liver function damage after MWA is unfavorable the long-term prognosis. The prediction algorithm based on five risk factors is robust and can be used to predict possible liver function damage.

Objective: This study was to investigate the characteristic morphology and hemodynamics in patients with internal jugular vein (IJV) stenosis by color duplex ultrasonography (CDU).
Methods: From 2017 October to 2019 October, 111 patients with unilateral IJV regional stenosis at the J3 segment (IJV out of the jugular foramen to the anatomic level of the carotid artery bifurcation) and 126 healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Using CDU, the diameter, maximum velocity (Vmax), maximum pressure gradient (PGmax), and mean flow volume (FVm) of bilateral IJVs were measured. With MR venous angiography (MRV) and/or CT venous angiography (CTV) as reference, the optimal cut-off values of Vmax and PGmax were determined by ROC analysis.
Results: Among the 111 patients, 39 (35.1%) were associated with intracranial hypertension (ICH). The diameter at the IJV stenosis was significantly smaller than that of the segment distal to the stenosis (2.04 ± 0.36mm vs. 4.49 ± 0.68mm, t = 19.367, P < 0.001). The Vmax and PGmax at the IJV stenosis segment were obviously higher than those at the segment distal to the stenosis (Vmax: 106.8 ± 29.0 cm/s vs. 32.4 ± 13.1 cm/s, t = 29.259; PGmax: 5.10 ± 2.69 mmHg vs. 0.50 ± 0.53 mmHg, all P < 0.001). With MRV/CTV as reference, the ROC curves of Vmax and PGmax at the stenosis site showed high diagnostic efficacy. The optimal cut-off value of Vmax was 75cm/s, with a sensitivity of 87.4% and a specificity of 95.2%. The optimal cut-off value of PGmax was 2.2 mmHg, with a sensitivity of 92.8% and a specificity of 96.0%.
Conclusion: CDU may be a useful method to evaluate IJV regional stenosis.

Objective: To investigate the ultrasound features of hepatic reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (HRLH) and primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL), and determine the value of ultrasound on the diagnosis and differentiation of them.
Methods: The ultrasound findings of 11 HRLH lesions and 14 PHL lesions from April 2011 to September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) manifestations of them were compared.
Results: HRLH showed significant female preference than PHL (100% and 64.3%) (P = 0.046). There were no significant differences of other demographics between HRLH and PHL patients. On conventional ultrasound, the diameter of HRLH (16.5 ± 3.8 mm) was significantly smaller than that of PHL (48.3 ± 36.2 mm) (P = 0.008), and a regular shape was seen more frequently in HRLH (90.9%) than that in PHL (50%) (P = 0.038). There were no significant differences of other indexes between HRLH and PHL. On CEUS, both HRLH and PHL presented arterial enhancement and washout in early portal phase. But rim enhancement at the beginning of washout was seen more frequently in HRLH (90.0%) than that in PHL (33.3%) (P = 0.036), and HRLH usually displayed hyperenhancement (100%) in arterial phase while PHL could be hypoenhancement (16.7%), isoenhancement (33.3%) and hyperenhancement (50%) (P = 0.036).
Conclusion: Ultrasound can supply valuable imaging evidences for the diagnosis of HRLH and PHL. The ultrasound features including size, shape, degree of arterial phase enhancement and rim enhancement at the beginning of washout can be used for the differentiation of HRLH and PHL.