Dhar J, Samanta J. The expanding role of endoscopic ultrasound elastography.
Clin J Gastroenterol 2022;
15:841-858. [PMID:
35789474 DOI:
10.1007/s12328-022-01662-0]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is an invaluable tool for assessing various GI diseases. However, using just the conventional B-mode EUS imaging may not be sufficient to accurately delineate the lesion's character. Using the principle of stress-induced tissue strain, EUS elastography (EUS-E) can help in the real-time sonographic assessment of the level of tissue stiffness or hardness of any organ of interest during a routine EUS procedure. Thus, EUS-E can better characterize the lesion's nature and highlight the more suspicious areas within an individual lesion. The most commonly studied lesions with EUS-E are the pancreatic lesions, namely, chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and lymph nodes. However, EUS-E is gradually expanding its use for lesion characterization of the liver, bile duct, adrenals, gastrointestinal tract, and even therapy response. Moreover, the use of EUS-E along with other image enhancement techniques such as harmonic EUS and contrast-enhanced EUS can improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. However, several technical aspects need to be standardized before EUS-E can be truly used as a tool for "virtual biopsy". This review focuses on the various technical aspects of the use of EUS-E, it is established and expanding indications and an extensive outline of the various studies on EUS-E. We also discuss the current pitfalls and future trends in EUS-E.
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