Assessing the impact and resource implications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound on workflow of patients with incidental focal liver lesions on the UK national health service.

Background: Focal liver lesions (FLL) are abnormal growths that require timely identification. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a cost-effective imaging modality for characterising FLL with similar sensitivity to computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Despite being recommended by NICE, its adoption within the national health service (NHS) is limited due to low clinical demand, limited referral, and lack of knowledge.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of CEUS on patients with incidental FLL and assess the resource implications of introducing CEUS as a diagnostic service within the NHS.

Material and methods: A patient flow review and cost-minimisation analysis were conducted. This involved a targeted literature review, NHS Trust stakeholder consultations, and development of a Microsoft Excel cost-minimisation model to explore potential value of CEUS use versus CT and MRI by episode. A scenario analysis of the base-case explored increasing CEUS use to 50% and 90%. A sensitivity analysis was performed to assess how changes in assumptions impacted the model and the resulting cost estimates.

Results: The model, comparing a world with and without CEUS, showed that current use (base-case: 5%) resulted in cost savings of £224,790/year. The sensitivity analysis indicated that regardless of changes to the assumptions, CEUS still resulted in cost savings to the NHS. By increasing CEUS use to 50% and 90%, cost savings of up to £2,247,894/year and £4,046,208/year could be achieved, respectively.

Conclusion: By standardising CEUS use for characterising FLL, substantial cost savings could be realised, whilst reducing wait times and expanding diagnostic capacity, thus preserving limited CT and MRI capacity for high-priority cases.