Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS)and contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography(CE-EUS)with sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles for injection in upper gastrointestinal submucosal tumors(SMT).Methods The subjects of this study were 82 upper gastrointestinal SMT patients from January 2021 to August 2023.All of them underwent EUS and CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents.Features of EUS images of upper gastrointestinal benign SMT and gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST),and CE-EUS images using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents were analyzed.EUS,CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents,and combination of the two were compared in upper gastrointestinal benign SMT and GIST diagnosis based on surgical pathological findings as the golden standard.Results 82 cases of upper gastrointestinal SMT were confirmed by imaging examination and surgical results to have tumors located in the upper,middle,lower segments esophagus,cardia,fundus,body,antrum of stomach,and duodenal bulb,accounting for 7.32%,10.98%,10.98%,4.88%,29.27%,26.83%,6.10%,and 3.66%respectively.According to pathological results,there were 51 cases of upper gastrointestinal benign SMT,accounting for 62.20%and 31 cases of GIST,accounting for 37.80%.Among them,SMT in the upper gastrointestinal tract was mainly located in the esophagus and stomach,with leiomyoma being the most common.GIST was mainly located in the stomach and was more common in the fundus and body of the stomach.The proportion of benign SMT group with uniform echo,smooth surface mucosa,and regular edges was significantly higher than that of GIST group(P＜0.05).GIST group had much higher proportion in doppler rich blood flow signals and origination from the muscularis propria than benign SMT group did(P＜0.05).There was no difference between the two groups in terms of proportion of echo properties(P＞0.05).The proportion of homogeneous enhancement in the benign SMT group was significantly higher than that in the GIST group(P＜0.05).The proportion of arterial phase hyperenhancement,venous phase diffuse enhancement,and irregular blood vessels in the GIST group was significantly higher than that in the benign SMT group(P＜0.05).The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of EUS in distinguishing GIST and benign SMT were 64.52%,74.51%,and 70.73%respectively,those of the CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agent were 90.32%,88.24%,and 89.02%respectively,and those of EUS+CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agent were 100.00%,90.20%,and 93.90%respectively.Conclusion EUS and CE-EUS with sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents has high diagnostic value for upper gastrointestinal benign SMT and GIST.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS)and contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography(CE-EUS)with sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles for injection in upper gastrointestinal submucosal tumors(SMT).Methods The subjects of this study were 82 upper gastrointestinal SMT patients from January 2021 to August 2023.All of them underwent EUS and CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents.Features of EUS images of upper gastrointestinal benign SMT and gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST),and CE-EUS images using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents were analyzed.EUS,CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents,and combination of the two were compared in upper gastrointestinal benign SMT and GIST diagnosis based on surgical pathological findings as the golden standard.Results 82 cases of upper gastrointestinal SMT were confirmed by imaging examination and surgical results to have tumors located in the upper,middle,lower segments esophagus,cardia,fundus,body,antrum of stomach,and duodenal bulb,accounting for 7.32%,10.98%,10.98%,4.88%,29.27%,26.83%,6.10%,and 3.66%respectively.According to pathological results,there were 51 cases of upper gastrointestinal benign SMT,accounting for 62.20%and 31 cases of GIST,accounting for 37.80%.Among them,SMT in the upper gastrointestinal tract was mainly located in the esophagus and stomach,with leiomyoma being the most common.GIST was mainly located in the stomach and was more common in the fundus and body of the stomach.The proportion of benign SMT group with uniform echo,smooth surface mucosa,and regular edges was significantly higher than that of GIST group(P＜0.05).GIST group had much higher proportion in doppler rich blood flow signals and origination from the muscularis propria than benign SMT group did(P＜0.05).There was no difference between the two groups in terms of proportion of echo properties(P＞0.05).The proportion of homogeneous enhancement in the benign SMT group was significantly higher than that in the GIST group(P＜0.05).The proportion of arterial phase hyperenhancement,venous phase diffuse enhancement,and irregular blood vessels in the GIST group was significantly higher than that in the benign SMT group(P＜0.05).The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of EUS in distinguishing GIST and benign SMT were 64.52%,74.51%,and 70.73%respectively,those of the CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agent were 90.32%,88.24%,and 89.02%respectively,and those of EUS+CE-EUS using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agent were 100.00%,90.20%,and 93.90%respectively.Conclusion EUS and CE-EUS with sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles as contrast agents has high diagnostic value for upper gastrointestinal benign SMT and GIST.