The appropriate allocation of CEUS in the diagnostic algorithm of liver lesions: A debated issue 1

摘要

The introduction of a new diagnostic tool into the clinical practice has always been a matter of discussion in the medical literature, both by clinicians and health care managers. There is generally a first phase characterized by enthusiasm and optimism of the authors performing and proposing the new technique, who generally report convincing results that appear significantly better than those achieved by previous techniques in the same field. The counterpart of this optimism is frequently the skepticism of the majority of clinicians not directly involved in the technique. The subsequent phase, often occurring many years later, is characterized by a more balanced evaluation leading, finally, the scientific societies to produce clinical guidelines, in which a quite general agreement about the advantages and limitations of the technique and its diagnostic accuracy has been reached.