Comparison of Imaging Efficacy and Patient Tolerability Between a Novel Cellulose-Based and a Conventional...

Objective To compare the imaging efficacy and patient tolerability of a novel cellulose-based oral contrast agent with a conventional starch-based agent in gastric contrast-enhanced ultrasound,thus providing evidence-based support for clinical practice. Methods A prospective,single-center,double-blind,randomized controlled trial was conducted,enrolling 100 healthy volunteers who were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (cellulose-based agent,n=50) or the control group (starch-based agent,n=50).All examinations were performed by the same sonographer.The clarity of gastric wall layers,homogeneity of the contrast agent,and degree of bubble interference were scored.The time required for oral contrast intake was recorded,and a questionnaire was used to evaluate taste acceptability and subjective tolerability after the examination. Results Baseline characteristics were balanced between the two groups.There were no statistically significant differences in image quality scores for various gastric regions,contrast agent homogeneity,or bubble interference scores (all P>0.05).No significant difference was observed in oral contrast agent intake time (P=0.081).Neither taste acceptability (96% of participants in both groups scored≥2) nor subjective tolerability (92% in the experimental group vs. 82% in the control group scored≥3) showed significant between-group differences (P>0.05). Conclusions In gastric contrast-enhanced ultrasound,the novel cellulose-based contrast agent shows no significant difference from the conventional starch-based contrast agent in terms of imaging efficiency and patient tolerability.With ready-to-use and easy-to-operate features,it holds significant potential for clinical adoption.