ULTRASONOGRAPHIC DETECTION OF TESTICULAR ISCHEMIA IN A CANINE MODEL USING PHOSPHOLIPID COATED MICROBUBBLES (MRX-115)

The purpose of this study was to determine if the sonographic contrast agent MRX-115 could improve the accuracy of Doppler ultrasonographic diagnosis of testicular ischemia. Testicular duplex ultrasonography wa s performed on six dogs before and after surgical ligation of the test icular artery, and before and after intravenous injection of MRX-115. Six radiologists blinded to experimental conditions rated the testicul ar blood flow. Receiver operating characteristics curves for condition s with and without administration of contrast agent were compared usin g Student's t-test for paired observations. Statistically significant differences were found both for the testes viewed individually (P = 0. 003) and for the testes in comparison to the contralateral side (P = 0 .0001). MRX-115 therefore is found to improve duplex sonographic evalu ation of testicular ischemia.