Shear Wave Elastography in the Differentiation of Intra-Abdominal Hematoma and Abscess

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the applicability of shear wave elastography as a quantitative approach for measuring tissue stiffness in the differentiation of intra-abdominal abscesses from hematomas, which share similar radiological findings. Methods: This prospective single-center study included patients with intra-abdominal abscesses or hematomas who underwent shear wave elastography prior to ultrasound-guided drainage in an interventional radiology clinic between 2021 and 2022. An independent samples t-test was used to compare the mean shear wave velocity between the abscess and hematoma groups. Results: A total of 50 patients (33 with abscesses and 17 with hematomas) were included in this study. The elastography values of the patients were expressed as mean +/- standard deviation (minimum-maximum). The mean shear wave velocity of hematomas (1.11 +/- 0.41 (0.54-1.98) m/s) was significantly higher than that of abscesses (0.68 +/- 0.16 (0.36-1.07) m/s) (p< 0.001). In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve was 84.8%. When the optimal cutoff value was defined as 0.72, the sensitivity and specificity were 82.4% and 67%, respectively. Conclusion: Shear wave velocity can aid in differentiating intra-abdominal abscesses from hematomas using a simple and widely available method.