Hepatic artery peak systolic velocity compared to non-Doppler ultrasound observations for predicting acute cholecystitis: diagnostic performance and impact on a risk categorization approach.

Lea Chen, Anika G Patel, Nirvikar Dahiya, Scott W Young, J Scott Kriegshauser, Nan Zhang, Maitray D Patel

Abstract readComparative Study

In one paragraph

Article in Abdominal radiology (New York), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Evaluating and communicating probability of acute cholecystitis consistently using a data-derived risk stratification algorithm synthesizing ultrasound and clinical parameters.Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2026
Review

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Lea ChenMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.

Anika G PatelMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.

Nirvikar DahiyaMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.

Scott W YoungMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.

J Scott KriegshauserMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.

Nan ZhangMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA.

Maitray D PatelMayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, USA. patel.maitray@mayo.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeCompare HAv to non-Doppler ultrasound observations for diagnosing acute cholecystitis in a large consecutive cohort of emergency department (ED) patients and establish a method to combine HAv assessment with non-Doppler observations for diagnosing acute cholecystitis.

methodsConsecutive ED patients at one institution undergoing gallbladder (GB) ultrasound (US) for acute cholecystitis between 1/1/2020 and 8/31/2022 had assessments of GB diameter, GB wall thickness, GB contents, pericholecystic irregular collection, and hepatic artery peak systolic velocity (HAv). The non-Doppler observations were scored and summed. Non-Doppler risk categorization was based on rate of acute cholecystitis associated with summed scores. The impact of HAv stratification on the rate of acute cholecystitis in the non-Doppler risk categories was evaluated, with regrouping when subgroups had changes in the acute cholecystitis rate; the regrouping established the HAv-adjusted risk model. Receiver-operator curves for acute cholecystitis diagnosis for individual parameters, the non-Doppler risk categorization, and the HAv-adjusted risk model were compared using area-under-curve (AUC) calculations.

resultsOf the 885 patients in the study cohort, 117 (13.2%) had acute cholecystitis. The AUC for diagnosing acute cholecystitis using GB distention (83.8%, p < 0.001), GB wall thickness (79.1%, p < 0.001), and GB contents (75.0%, p 0.02) were higher than HAv (66.3%). HAv assessment adjusted risk for 195 patients. The non-Doppler risk categorization and the HAv-adjusted risk model had the same sensitivity (84.6%) and specificity (85.2%) for diagnosing acute cholecystitis, but the HAv-adjusted risk model showed higher AUC (91.3%, p 0.03) due to increased ability to exclude acute cholecystitis.

conclusionsThe diagnostic performance of HAv for acute cholecystitis was lower than other assessments. A categorization scheme based on summed points assigned to each non-Doppler observation was improved with HAv assessment. This risk categorization approach using formulaic integration of non-Doppler and Doppler assessments on ED patients allows radiologists to convey one of five levels of disease probability based solely on sonographic features ranging from effectively excluding acute cholecystitis to substantially elevating the chance the patient has the condition.

Indexed as

Cholecystitis, AcuteHepatic ArteryAdultAgedBlood Flow VelocityEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentUltrasonographyAcute cholecystitisDiagnostic performanceGallbladderHepatic arteryUltrasound

Identifiers

PMID39572430

DOI10.1007/s00261-024-04530-2

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.