To compare the clinical diagnostic value of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) for benign and malignant liver lesions in children.

The imaging data of children with benign and malignant liver tumors admitted to the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between July 2019 and February 2023, who underwent both CEUS and CECT, were retrospectively analyzed. Using pathological and clinical diagnoses as the gold standard, we analyzed the imaging findings of cases where CEUS and CECT had misdiagnosed the condition. We then compared the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the two imaging modalities in diagnosing benign and malignant liver lesions.

A total of 55 children were included in this study. CEUS had a misdiagnosis rate of 1.82% (1/55), with one case of hemangioma being misdiagnosed, and a diagnostic compliance rate of 98.18% (54/55). CECT, on the other hand, had a misdiagnosis rate of 9.09% (5/55), including two cases of hepatoblastoma, two cases of hemangioma, and one case of focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver, and a diagnostic compliance rate of 90.91% (50/55). The sensitivity of CEUS for diagnosing benign and malignant focal liver lesions in children was 100.00%, with a specificity of 95.00% and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 98.18%. CECT demonstrated a diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 94.29%, 90.00%, and 90.91%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the diagnostic performance between the two methods (P>0.05).

CEUS is valuable in distinguishing between benign and malignant liver tumors in children and demonstrates a diagnostic performance comparable to that of CECT.