Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation - Volume 66, issue 1

Authors: Sowa, Yoshihiro | Yokota, Isao | Itsukage, Sizu | Nakatsukasa, Katsuhiko | Sakaguchi, Koichi | Taguchi, Tetsuya | Numajiri, Toshiaki

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Capsular contracture around implants is a common complication after breast reconstruction. Strain elastography (STE) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) are noninvasive imaging techniques that can measure tissue stiffness and thickness of the capsule. OBJECTIVE: The purposes of the study were to compare STE and SWE for measurement of capsular contracture after breast implant reconstruction using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and to investigate the correlation of these data with the Baker score, which is the most frequently used clinical staging scale for capsule contracture. METHODS: The subjects were 20 patients (27 implants) who underwent breast reconstruction. …RESULTS: The reproducibility of SWE (ICC: 0.878) was higher than that of STE (ICC: 0.724) for measurement of capsular contracture. The correlation coefficient between measurements with the two methods was low (r  = 0.6788). The Baker score had a higher correlation with measurements with SWE (r  = 0.8124) compared to those with STE (r  = 0.6983). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that SWE is a better tool for assessment of the degree of capsule contracture surrounding implants after breast reconstruction. Show more

Keywords: Ultrasound, shear wave elastography, strain elastography, capsular contracture, breast implant, breast reconstruction

DOI: 10.3233/CH-16210

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 1-6, 2017

Authors: Zhao, Chong-Ke | Xu, Hui-Xiong | Guo, Le-Hang | Sun, Li-Ping | Yu, Mei

Article Type: Case Report

Abstract: Primary hepatic angiosarcoma (PHA) is a rare malignancy with a badly poor prognosis. The extremely low morbidity and untypical clinical manifestations conduce to a missed diagnosis. The present study reported a case of an adult male patient who was pathologically confirmed to be PHA, which mimicked intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma on conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Findings on various imaging examinations were carefully evaluated and the associated literatures were also reviewed.

Keywords: Primary hepatic angiosarcoma, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound

DOI: 10.3233/CH-16212

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 7-14, 2017

Authors: He, Ya-Ping | Xu, Hui-Xiong | Li, Xiao-Long | Li, Dan-Dan | Bo, Xiao-Wan | Zhao, Chong-Ke | Liu, Bo-Ji | Wang, Dan | Xu, Hui-Xiong

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of two different 2D shear wave speed imaging techniques of Virtual Touch Tissue Imaging & Quantification (VTIQ) and Toshiba shear wave elastography (T-SWE) in predicting malignant thyroid nodules (TNs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 75 TNs in 75 patients which were subject to both VTIQ and T-SWE examinations were enrolled and analyzed. Shear wave speed (SWS) values on VTIQ and T-SWE were computed (SWS_max, min, mean and median). Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was obtained to assess the diagnostic performance. RESULTS: The …AUROC for VTIQ was the highest with SWS_min whereas for T-SWE was SWS_max (0.774 versus 0.851; p  > 0.05). The AUROC, sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) corresponding to SWS_max for VTIQ were significantly lower than those for T-SWE (0.717 versus 0.851, 61.5% versus 92.3% and 78.7% versus 94.3%; all p  < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found between AUROC with SWS_min, SWS_mean, or SWS_median for VTIQ and SWS_max for T-SWE (all p  > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In general, VTIQ is equal to T-SWE for diagnosis of TNs. In the clinical practice, the selection of SWS_max should be avoided in VTIQ whereas should be selected in T-SWE. Show more

Keywords: Acoustic radiation force impulse, shear wave elastography, ultrasound, thyroid nodules, fine-needle aspiration, diagnostic performance

DOI: 10.3233/CH-16217

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 15-26, 2017

Authors: Ma, Xi | Li, Qi | Wang, Jian-liang | Shao, Jun | Zhu, Yu-chun | Ding, Wei | Zhang, Hou-sheng | Wang, Hong-yan | Shen, Jun-kang

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of transvaginal elastography (TVES) combined with high-resolution transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) in the detection of parametrial invasion in cervical cancer and to compare the diagnostic performance with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 52 women with histologically confirmed cervical cancer over a 2-year period were staged using International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) criteria and underwent MRI and TVES combined with TVS according to a standardized protocol before treatment. When assessing parametrial involvement with TVS, MRI, and combination of TVES and TVS, the findings …were recorded and compared with histopathological results after surgery in early-stage disease (stage⩽IIa). Sensitivity, specificity accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each method independently; subsequently, a matched-sample analysis was performed by using McNemar’s test or chi-square test. RESULTS: Of 52 patients, 39 were early-stage disease (stage⩽IIa), and 13 were advanced-stage disease (stage⩾IIb) according to conventional FIGO staging. For the detection of parametrial infiltration, both the diagnostic sensitivity of MRI and the combination of TVS and TVES were statistically higher than alone TVS in early-stage of cervical cancer (P  = 0.03 < 0.05). Both MRI and the combination of TVS and TVES had a sensitivity of 72.73%; specificity rates of 82.14% for MRI and 78.57% for the combination of TVES and TVS; and the diagnostic accuracy rates of 79.49% for MRI and 76.92% for the combination of TVES and TVS. A matched sample analysis revealed no statistically significant difference between the diagnostic performance of MRI and the combination of TVES and TVS in the assessment of parametrial invasion (all P values > 0.05). CONCLUSION: TVES combined with TVS performed by a dedicated gynecologic radiologist should be considered a promising and economic method for pre-operative work-up for cervical cancer. Show more

Keywords: Cervical cancer, parametrial invasion, transvaginal elastography, MRI, diagnostic performance

DOI: 10.3233/CH-16235

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 27-35, 2017

Authors: Ren, Wei-Wei | Li, Xiao-Long | He, Ya-Ping | Li, Dan-Dan | Wang, Dan | Zhao, Chong-Ke | Bo, Xiao-Wan | Liu, Bo-Ji | Yue, Wen-Wen | Xu, Hui-Xiong

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE : To evaluate the diagnostic performance of two different shear wave elastography (SWE) techniques in distinguishing malignant breast lesions from benign ones. MATERIALS AND METHODS : From March 2016 to May 2016, a total of 153 breast lesions (mean diameter, 16.8 mm±10.5; range 4.1–90.0 mm) in 153 patients (mean age, 46.4 years±15.1; age range 20–86 years) were separately performed by two different SWE techniques (i.e. T-SWE, Aplio500, Toshiba Medical System, Tochigi, Japan; and S-SWE, the Aixplorer US system, SuperSonic Imagine, Provence, France). The maximum (Emax), mean (Emean) and standard deviation (ESD ) of elasticity modulus values in T-SWE and S-SWE …were analyzed. All the lesions were confirmed by ultrasound (US)-guided core needle biopsy (n  = 26), surgery (n  = 122), or both (n  = 5), with pathological results as the gold standard. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) were calculated. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated to assess the diagnostic performance between T-SWE and S-SWE. Operator consistency was also evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 153 lesions, 41 (26.8%) were malignant and 112 (73.2%) were benign. Emax (T-SWE: 40.10±37.14 kPa vs. 118.78±34.41 kPa; S-SWE: 41.22±22.54 kPa vs. 134.77±60.51 kPa), Emean (T-SWE: 19.75±16.31 kPa vs. 52.93±25.75 kPa; S-SWE: 20.95±10.98 kPa vs. 55.95±22.42 kPa) and ESD (T-SWE: 9.00±8.55 kPa vs. 38.44±12.30 kPa; S-SWE: 8.17±6.14 kPa vs. 29.34±13.88 kPa) showed statistical differences in distinguishing malignant lesions from benign ones both in T-SWE and S-SWE (all p  < 0.05). In T-SWE, the diagnostic performance of ESD was the highest (AUROC = 0.958), followed by Emax (AUROC = 0.909; p  = 0.001 in comparison with ESD ) and Emean (AUROC = 0.892; p  < 0.001 in comparison with ESD ), while in S-SWE, the diagnostic performance of Emax was the highest (AUROC = 0.967), followed by ESD (AUROC = 0.962, p  > 0.05 in comparison with Emax) and Emean (AUROC = 0.930, p  = 0.034 in comparison with Emax). AUROC-max (T-SWE: 0.909 vs. S-SWE: 0.967), AUROC-mean (T-SWE: 0.892 vs. S-SWE: 0.930) and AUROC-SD (T-SWE: 0.958 vs. S-SWE: 0.962) showed no significant difference between T-SWE and S-SWE (all p  > 0.05). The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) of the intra-operator consistency and inter-operator consistency respectively were 0.961 and 0.898 in T-SWE, while 0.954 and 0.897 in S-SWE. CONCLUSION: T-SWE and S-SWE are equivalent for distinguishing the breast lesions. In T-SWE, ESD had the best diagnostic performance, while in S-SWE, Emax had the best diagnostic performance. Show more

Keywords: Breast lesions, shear wave elastography, ultrasound, diagnostic performance, elastography

DOI: 10.3233/CH-16243

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 37-46, 2017

Authors: Felthaus, Oliver | Prantl, Lukas | Skaff-Schwarze, Mona | Klein, Silvan | Anker, Alexandra | Ranieri, Marco | Kuehlmann, Britta

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Autologous fat grafts and adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can be used to treat soft tissue defects. However, the results are inconsistent and sometimes comprise tissue resorption and necrosis. This might be due to insufficient vascularization. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a source of concentrated autologous platelets. The growth factors and cytokines released by platelets can facilitate angiogenesis. The simultaneous use of PRP might improve the regeneration potential of fat grafts. The optimal ratio has yet to be elucidated. A byproduct of PRP preparation is platelet-poor plasma (PPP). OBJECTIVE: In this study we investigated the influence of different concentrations …of PRP on the vitality and differentiation of ASCs. METHODS: We processed whole blood with the Arthrex Angel centrifuge and isolated ASCs from the same donor. We tested the effects of different PRP and PPP concentrations on the vitality using resazurin assays and the differentiation of ASCs using oil-red staining. RESULTS: Both cell vitality and adipogenic differentiation increase to a concentration of 10% to 20% PRP. With a PRP concentration of 30% cell vitality and differentiation decrease. CONCLUSIONS: Both PRP and PPP can be used to expand ASCs without xenogeneic additives in cell culture. A PRP concentration above 20% has inhibitory effects. Show more

Keywords: Adipose tissue derived stem cells, platelet rich plasma, tissue engineering

DOI: 10.3233/CH-160203

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 47-55, 2017

Authors: Gruzdeva, Olga | Uchasova, Evgenya | Fanaskova, Elena | Akbasheva, Olga | Penskaya, Tatyana | Plotnikov, Georgy | Dyleva, Yulia | Barbarash, Olga

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: To evaluate the parameters of the thrombin generation test (TGT) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients on prolonged aspirin therapy during on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) after donor platelet concentrate transfusion. A total of 148 patients with CAD on prolonged aspirin therapy (75–100 mg/day) who have undergone elective on-pump CABG were consecutively included in the study. Patients were divided randomly into two groups. Group 1 (n  = 76) received donor platelet transfusions after cardiopulmonary bypass, whereas Group 2 (n  = 72) did not. TGT parameters were measured using an analyzer at pre-, intra-, and early postoperative periods. Activation of the endogenous thrombin …potential was observed in patients on prolonged aspirin therapy in the pre- and intraoperative periods, as confirmed by high peak thrombin and increased velocity index. The activation time of the prothrombinase complex and thrombin generation time were greater than the control group. The blood hemostatic potential in patients who did not receive transfusions in the early postoperative period decreased up to the level of the control group in the extended time parameters. Hemostatic potential in plasma in patients on aspirin was preserved. Given the laboratory test results and clinical data, platelet concentrate transfusion is unnecessary for prevention. Show more

Keywords: Thrombin generation test, coronary artery disease, aspirin therapy, platelet transfusion

DOI: 10.3233/CH-160216

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 57-66, 2017

Authors: Wang, Dan | Fu, Hui-Jun | Xu, Hui-Xiong | Guo, Le-Hang | Li, Xiao-Long | He, Ya-Ping | Bo, Xiao-Wan | Zhao, Chong-Ke | Sun, Li-Ping | Lu, Feng | Zhang, Kun | Wei, Qing

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To compare the sampling efficiency and diagnostic performance of ultrasound (US)-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and fine-needle non-aspiration cytology (FNNAC) for thyroid nodules. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 629 thyroid nodules in 629 cases (477 females, 152 males) were randomly subjected to FNAC or FNNAC from Jun 2014 to Feb 2015. Diagnostic performance was calculated in reference to the histological findings or follow-up results. RESULTS: 629 patients (152 men, 477 women) with 629 thyroid nodules were enrolled in the study. Pathological results were obtained in 173 nodules and benign nodules at FNA with more than six …months’ follow-up were found in 65 nodules. Tumor size for FNAC ranges from 3.0 to 51.0 mm (mean±SD; 10.2±6.9 mm); whereas FNNAC (2.0–43.0 mm; 11.9±7.7 mm). Non-diagnostic results were found in 7.59% (24/316) of FNNAC procedures and 7.59% (25/313) of FNAC (P  > 0.05). Determinate and indeterminate results were found in 50.63% (160/316) and 41.77% (132/316) of FNNAC procedures, whereas 58.15% (182/313) and 33.87% (106/313) of FNAC (P  < 0.05). In order to obtain determinate cytological results, FNAC might be more suitable than FNNAC for diagnosis of nodules with hypovascularity (51.38% vs. 41.78%, P  < 0.05) and macrocalcifications (9.72% vs. 6.50%, P  < 0.05). No US and Color-Doppler US characteristics, such as the presence of hypervascularity (P  > 0.05), microcalcifications (P  > 0.05), internal component (P  > 0.05), or size(P  > 0.05), were significantly different to obtain determinate cytological results between the FNAC and FNNAC groups. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy of FNAC and FNNAC were as follows: 96.67% vs. 100%, 89.74% vs. 96.5%, 87.88% vs. 96.97%, 97.22% vs. 100%, 92.75% vs.98.36%, respectively (all P  > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both FNAC and FNNAC are effective for diagnosis of thyroid nodules. However, FNAC is more effective than FNNAC to acquire determinate cytological results for nodules which US present hypovascularity and macrocalcifications. Show more

Keywords: Ultrasound, thyroid, cancer, fine needle, cytology

DOI: 10.3233/CH-160222

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 67-81, 2017

Authors: Miko, Iren | Nemeth, Norbert | Sogor, Viktoria | Kiss, Ferenc | Toth, Eniko | Peto, Katalin | Furka, Andrea | Vanyolos, Erzsebet | Toth, Laszlo | Varga, Jozsef | Szigeti, Krisztian | Benkő, Ilona | Olah, Anna V. | Furka, Istvan

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Partial or subtotal spleen resection or spleen autotransplantation can partly preserve/restore the splenic filtration function, as previous studies demonstrated. OBJECTIVE: For better evaluation and follow-up of the various spleen-preserving operative techniques’ effectiveness versus splenectomy, a composite methodological approach was applied in a canine experimental model. METHODS: Beagle dogs were subjected to control (n  = 6), splenectomy (SE, n  = 4), partial and subtotal spleen resection (n  = 4/each) or spleen autotransplantation groups (AU, Furka’s spleen-chip method, n  = 8). The follow-up period was 18 postoperative (p.o.) months. Erythrocyte deformability was determined in parallel by bulk filtrometry (Carat FT-1 …filtrometer), slit-flow ektacytometry (RheoScan D-200) and rotational ektacytometry (LoRRca MaxSis Osmoscan). RESULTS: By filtrometry, relative cell transit time increased in the SE group (mostly in animal Nr. SE-3), showing the highest values on the 3rd, 9th and in 18th p.o. months. Elongation index values decreased in this group (both by slit-flow and rotational ektacytometers). In general, AU and two resection groups’ values were lower versus control and higher than in SE. CONCLUSIONS: Forasmuch in the circulation both elongation by shear stress and filtration occur, these various erythrocyte deformability testing methods together may describe better the alterations. Considering the possible complications related to functional asplenic-hyposplenic conditions, individual analysis of cases is highly important. Show more

Keywords: Spleen filtration function, splenectomy, spleen autotransplantation, spleen partial or subtotal resection, red blood cell deformability, bulk filtrometry, slit flow and rotational ektacytometry

DOI: 10.3233/CH-160231

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 83-96, 2017