Impact of pelvic floor ultrasound in diagnosis of postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction: A protocol of systematic review.

BACKGROUND: This study will appraise the impact of pelvic floor ultrasound (PFU) in diagnosis of postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction (PPPFD). METHODS: Studies that report the impact of PFU in diagnosis of PPPFD will be examined in Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, CNKI, and WANGFANG up to June 1, 2020. Grey literature sources will also be searched. All potential case-controlled studies (CCSs) exploring the impact of PFU in diagnosis of PPPFD will be considered for inclusion in this study. Data will be extracted from eligible CCSs for data pooling and meta-analysis. Whenever necessary, we will also perform summary effect size, heterogeneity across studies, study quality assessment, and reporting bias. RESULTS: The present study will estimate pooled outcome effects regarding the impact of PFU in diagnosis of PPPFD. CONCLUSION: This study may provide robust evidence to judge the impact of PFU on PPPFD SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION:: PROSPERO CRD42020187623.

Application of quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the evaluation of acute radiation-induced liver damage.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the microcirculation perfusion in patients with acute radiation-induced liver damage (RILD) and explore the feasibility of non-invasive evaluation of RILD using quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Patients who successfully underwent three-dimensional conformal intensity-modulated radiotherapy for abdominal tumors were selected. CEUS was performed on the liver prior to and 2, 3 and 4 weeks after exposure, and the time-intensity curve (TIC) was obtained by quantitative analysis of CEUS. The time to peak (TTP), gradient (Grad) and area under the curve (AUC) were analyzed offline. The Grad of the CEUS TIC was decreased and TTP increased with the prolongation of the irradiation duration, with statistically significant differences between the values in the 2-, 3- and 4-week groups vs. those prior to exposure (P<0.05), as well as among the values of the 2-, 3- and 4-week groups (P<0.05). Following irradiation, the AUC decreased gradually in the 2- and 3-week groups and increased in the 4-week group, with statistically significant differences compared with the AUC prior to irradiation (P<0.05). The quantitative analysis parameters of CEUS may be important reference parameters for the early diagnosis of acute RILD.

Impact of ultrasound diagnosis for chronic pelvic pain.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the impact of ultrasound diagnosis in patients with chronic pelvic pain (CPP). METHODS: We will carry out a comprehensive electronic search from the databases below: PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PSYCINFO, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WANGFANG databases from inception to July 1, 2019. The case-controlled studies focusing on impact of ultrasound diagnosis for patients CPP will be included in this study. Two authors will independently conduct all study selection, data collection, and risk of bias assessment. The risk of bias assessment will be assessed using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. We will apply RevMan V.5.3 software and Stata V.12.0 software for data pooling and statistical analysis. RESULTS: This study will present pooled effect estimates regarding the impact of ultrasound diagnosis for CPP by assessing sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio of ultrasound to determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound diagnosis for CPP. CONCLUSION: This study will provide modest evidence for the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in patients with CPP. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42019142799.

Quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in acute radiation-induced liver injury: An animal model.

The aim of the present study was to examine and assess contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the early diagnosis of acute radiation-induced liver injury in a rat model. Sixty female rats were used, with 50 rats being utilized to produce an animal model of liver injury with a single dose of stereotactic X-ray irradiation of 20 Gy. Ten rats from the injury group and 2 rats from the control group were randomly selected on days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28, and examined by contrast-enhanced ultrasound and histopathology of liver specimens. The rats were divided into four groups: the normal control group, mild, moderate, and severe radioactive liver injury groups based on the histopathological examination results. Hepatic artery arriving time (HAAT) and hepatic vein arriving time (HVAT) were recorded, and hepatic artery to vein transit time (HA-HVTT) was calculated. The time-intensity curve of liver parenchyma, the time to peak (TTP) and peak intensity (PI) were also obtained. Significant differences were observed between liver injury and control groups for PI and HA-HVTT (P<0.05). PI and HA-HVTT were shorter in the severe liver injury group compared to the mild and moderate liver injury groups (P<0.05). Compared to the control group, higher TTP was recorded in all the liver injury groups (P<0.05), and the highest TTP level was observed in the severe liver injury group compared to the mild or moderate group (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the mild and moderate groups for PI, HA-HVTT and TTP. In conclusion, the results showed that contrast-enhanced ultrasonography is useful for an earlier diagnosis in a rat model of acute radiation-induced liver injury.