Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in the Evaluation of Renal Masses with Histopathological Validation-Results from a Prospective Single-Center Study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in characterizing between malignant and benign renal lesions confirmed by histological examination. METHODS: Overall, 110 patients, for a total of 118 renal masses previously identified at CT and MRI underwent CEUS. An expert radiologist evaluated morphological, qualitative and quantitative parameters. Acquired data were analyzed to assess the value of each parameter to differentiate between malignant and benign lesions. RESULTS: Histological results of 118 renal masses showed 88 (75%) malignant lesions and 30 (25%) benign lesions. Among morphological features, inhomogeneous echogenicity was the best predictor of malignancy depicting a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 76%, 76%, 88% and 57%, respectively. Among qualitative parameters, the most reliable parameter was the presence of pseudo-capsule. Here, sensitivity, specificity, positive PPV and NPV were 85%, 86%, 94% and 71%, respectively. Among quantitative parameters, the most reliable parameters were peak intensity (PI) and the area under the (AUC) with sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV values of 94%, 92%, 96% and 87% and 99%, 92%, 97% and 97%, respectively. Finally, the most reliable parameters were combined to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions. The best combination obtained was restricted to CEUS parameters (PI and AUC). Here, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy rate were 93%, 100%, 100%, 83% and 93%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: CEUS increases the US accuracy to discriminate between benign and malignant renal lesions.

[Rare cases of bladder stones]. / Rari casi di calcolosi vescicale.

We present here two special cases of urolithiasis. The first one shows a giant bladder lithiasis resulting in severe renal insufficiency in a 63-year-old patient, who had previously had nicturia (2-3 times), occasional episodes of urinary frequency and burning micturition, in the absence of renal colic, hematuria or interrupted urination. The second case referes to an 85-year-old man suffering from prostatic enlargement and bladder stones, hospitalized to undergo intervention of trans-vesical prostatic adenomectomy, during which two star-shaped stones were found without obvious symptoms.