Analysis of Achilles tendon vascularity with second generation Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS)
Résumé
Purpose: To compare morphological and power Doppler features of the Achilles tendon and Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) behaviour between asymptomatic athletes and athletes who had undergone surgery for repair of an Achilles tendon rupture. Materials and Methods: 24 athletes were divided in two groups (A and B). Group A included 14 patients with a median age of 32 years (range 27 to 47 years) who had undergone surgical repair for unilateral Achilles tendon rupture. Group B (control group) included 10 subjects with a median of 34 years (range 27 to 40 years) with no previous or present history of tendinopathy. All patients were evaluated with gray-scale ultrasound (US), power-Doppler and CEUS with second-generation contrast agent. We studied the uninjured Achilles tendon in athletes who had suffered a previous rupture (Group A) and either the left or right Achilles tendon of the athletes in Group B. Results: CEUS showed a significantly greater ability to detect a greater number of vascular spots within the tendon of Group A compared to Group B (< 0.05). Conclusions: In athletes who had suffered a tear of an Achilles tendon, CEUS detected small vessels that were not identified by power-Doppler US in the uninjured contralateral Achilles tendon. CEUS is useful to evaluate vascularity not detected by other imaging techniques. vascularity seems to be increased in patient who had suffered from a previous rupture.
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