Effects of a microbubble ultrasound contrast agent on high-intensity focused ultrasound for uterine fibroids: a randomised controlled trial

摘要

Objective: To investigate the effects of a microbubble ultrasound contrast agent on high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment of uterine fibroids.Methods: A total of 120 patients with solitary uterine fibroid were randomly assigned into Groups A, B, C and D. Patients in Groups A and B received 1.5ml of SonoVue, Groups C and D received 1.5ml of saline before HIFU ablation. HIFU sonication started at 6min after administration of SonoVue or saline in Groups A and C, whereas it started at 10min in Groups B and D. On day 1 after HIFU, magnetic resonance imaging was performed. Patients were followed up via phone or clinic visit during the first week after HIFU.Results: No significant difference was observed in terms of age, fibroid location, diameter of fibroids, signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging, or tumour volume among the four groups (p0.05). The use of SonoVue significantly shortened the treatment time and sonication time. The sonication start time of 6min, relative to 10min, had significant effects on the treatment time and sonication time. The use of intravenous SonoVue followed by HIFU ablation 6min later significantly increased the rate of significant grey-scale changes (55.9%) and the non-perfused volume ratio (94.2%10.6%). No significant differences were observed in the incidence of intra-procedure and post-HIFU adverse effects among the four groups (p0.05).Conclusions: SonoVue could be safely used to enhance the ablation effects of HIFU treatment of uterine fibroids.