He said that CEUS also is safer and less expensive than alternative forms of diagnostic imaging, and it provides diagnostic information in real time.

“In some cases, CEUS can avoid delays associated with MR or CT, and that can help speed up the patient’s access to appropriate therapy,” Dr. Lyshchik added.


AASLD guidelines are widely followed by physicians throughout North America, and the new CEUS recommendations “represent an important and appropriate step forward in integrating CEUS into modern imaging labs,” said Kono.

CEUS is also recommended by guidelines promulgated by professional societies around the world, according to Dr. Fabio Piscaglia, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Bologna and a past president of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB). Dr. Piscaglia also is first author of the EFSUMB guidelines on non-hepatic clinical applications of CEUS, a co-author of HCC guidelines of the European Association of the Study of Liver, and a board member of ICUS.

“CEUS is a very reliable, safe, low-cost diagnostic modality that improves patient outcomes and experiences, and often saves lives,” Dr. Piscaglia said.

UCAs are manufactured and sold in the US and elsewhere by Bracco, Lantheus and GE Healthcare.


ABOUT ICUS:
The International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS) is a nonprofit medical society dedicated to advancing the safe and medically appropriate use of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to improve patient care globally. Membership in ICUS is available free of charge and there is no fee for ICUS CME-accredited educational programs, newsletters or other resources.

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