Abstract
Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of liver ultrasound for the detection of hepatoma in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients by either taking histopathology or serum a-fetoprotein levels or a biphasic computed tomography (CT) scan (whichever is available) as the gold standard.
Study design: Cross-sectional.
Place and duration of study: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from January 2007 to January 2010.
Methods: A total of 239 patients (156 males and 83 females) with clinical suspicion or-surveillance of hepatoma in CLD referred to the radiology department for ultrasound evaluation followed by either liver biopsy and histopathology or serum a-fetoprotein level or biphasic CT scan.
Results: The sensitivity of ultrasound for hepatoma detection in CLD was 65%, specificity was 85%, and accuracy was 70%, and positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 92% and 45%, respectively.
Conclusion: Ultrasound is a relatively quick, safe, reasonably accurate, and noninvasive imaging modality for the detection of hepatoma in CLD and can be complemented with clinical assessment of screening high-risk patients.