Dear Ultrasound Insider,
We're rolling through yet another holiday season! This year, ultrasound proponents can celebrate the modality's growing versatility and value in a variety of settings and clinical applications.
For example, Focused Assessment With Sonography for Trauma (FAST) has been used for the past few decades now for rapid assessment and management of blunt trauma in emergency settings. However, French researchers recently explored how an extended FAST protocol (E-FAST) can further assist with treatment decision-making. Find out what the team discovered in this edition's Insider Exclusive.
In other news, an Italian research team reported that ultrasound is helpful in identifying and diagnosing endometriosis in young women. Read how ultrasound can be a substitute for invasive laparoscopy.
Also, ultrasound-guided surgery in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) may eliminate the need for a guide wire, suggests research presented at the European Breast Cancer Conference held recently.
Switching gears, a Chinese study found that using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with perfluorobutane can diagnose liver cancer in high-risk patients. Find out how this method compared with CT and MRI protocols.
Advances in ultrasound were also evident at the annual RSNA meeting. AuntMinnie.com's editorial team was on the ground in Chicago for RSNA 2022, covering a variety of ultrasound-related presentations including the following:
- Japanese researchers found that combining parameters from 2D shear-wave elastography can help assess liver characteristics in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Using ultrasound first rather than supplemental mammography can be cost-effective in evaluating non-calcified breast lesions from digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) exams, a team suggested.
- Researchers from India explored the effectiveness of ultrasound-guided hydrodissection for treating carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Shear-wave elastography shows the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the liver, a Massachusetts General Hospital team found.
Find more articles like these by regularly visiting your Ultrasound Community!
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
