Virtual gastroscopy: A preliminary study on the use of trans-abdominal, fast three-dimensional, colour-coded ultrasound in the evaluation of gastric mass lesions

Abstract Background and study aims To assess the feasibility of trans-abdominal, fast three-dimensional, colour-coded ultrasound (3D CDUS) in the evaluation of gastric mass lesions compared to video endoscopy (VE) as the reference standard method. Patients and methods The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the local ethics committee. Informed consent was obtained from each patient. Sixty-three patients (34 males, 29 females; ages ranging from 21 to 72 years; mean 48.3 years) with VE-proven gastric mass lesions, from a population with gastric disorders, were included in this study. VE parameters and histopathology results remained blinded to the investigator. Fast 3D CDUS was performed on all patients and results interpreted. Finally, we reviewed the imaging results for each patient and compared them with previously obtained video recordings from VE and confirmed by histopathology. Results Compared to VE results, 61 out of 63 mass lesions were effectively diagnosed using 3D CDUS. In the remaining two cases (3.2%), a study of the gastric wall produced no conclusive findings. Our results showed an accuracy of 100% in benign gastric mass lesions, 95% in the evaluation of malignant involvement and an overall accuracy of 96.8%. Malignant stenotic segments and staging of malignant masses, which is mandatory if surgical intervention is planned, can be demonstrated by employing 3D CDUS. Conclusion Fast 3D CDUS imaging is an easy, office-based, non-invasive method that has been shown to be effective for the evaluation of gastric mass lesions. Theoretically, it can also be used as a preliminary test in patient selection for endoscopy.