Table 1.
Comparison of the papers based on the number of patients included in each single study and on the number of patients with at least one malignant nodule detected using CEUS; the values for sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were obtained though comparison with the histological examination.
| Authors of the Studies | Total Patients | Patients ± Total Patients | Sensitivity (%) | Specificity (%) | PPV 1 | NPV 2 | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xiang et al. [59] | 82 | 65/82 | 82% | 65% | 90% | 48% | 79% |
| Zhan et al. [74] | 56 | 33/56 | 65% | 100% | 100% | 63% | 78% |
| Hong et al. [77] | 573 | 253/573 | 85% | 94% | 94% | 86% | 89% |
| Wang et al. [78] | 285 | 102/285 | 67% | 64–85% 3 | - | - | - |
| Chen et al. [79] | 206 | 46/206 | 90% | 89% | 90% | 86% | 89% |
| Tao et al. 4 [80] | 275 | 127/275 | 72% | 74% | 70% | 75% | 73% |
1 Positive Predictive Value; 2 Negative Predictive Value; 3 The study divides patients into two groups, PTC (>10 mm), PTMC (<10 mm); 4 The evaluation is based on a prediction model combining both the parameters obtained from the CEUS and clinical parameters.