Conventional and color Doppler sonography in preoperative assessment of ovarian tumors

Objective: To study the vascular patterns of ovarian tumors by color Doppler imaging (CDI) and compare the findings of conventional sonographic studies and CDI with histopathologic findings for the same tumors. Methods: Fifty nonpregnant women scheduled for elective surgery for ovarian tumors were examined by sonographic scanning and CDI by the same physician. Sonographic morphology scores [SMSs] were used, and the pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) were calculated after locating vessels in and around the tumors by CDI. Results: It was possible to obtain CDI results in 26 of the 50 women. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were 100%, 71.43%, 73.33%, and 100%, respectively, for SMS. With CDI, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 100%, 85.72%, 95%, and 100% for PI and 100%, 71.43%, 90.48%, and 100% for RI. RI sensitivity and specificity were identical to those of SMS, i.e., 100% and 71.43%, respectively, but PI specificity was better (85.72%). Conclusion: In this study, CDI was definitely better than SMS when color flow could be obtained through the tumors. The overall efficiency in diagnosing the nature of tumors is very high if SMS and CDI are both used in patients having ovarian tumors.