Article information
Special issue
This article is part of special issue:
Ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract
Edited by: Dr. Tomás Ripollés González - Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Hospital Universitari Doctor Peset, València, España
Last update: April 2021
More infoAbstract
Imaging techniques play a fundamental role in the initial diagnosis and follow-up of inflammatory bowel disease. Intestinal ultrasound has high sensitivity and specificity in patients with suspected Crohn’s disease and in the detection of inflammatory activity. This technique enables the early diagnosis of intra-abdominal complications such as stenosis, fistulas, and abscesses. It has also proven useful in monitoring the response to treatment and in detecting postsurgical recurrence. Technical improvements in ultrasound scanners, technological advances such as ultrasound contrast agents and elastography, and above all increased experience have increased the role of ultrasound in the evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract. The features that make ultrasound especially attractive include its wide availability, its noninvasiveness and lack of ionising radiation, its low cost, and its good reproducibility, which is important because it is easy to repeat the study and the study is well tolerated during follow-up. This review summarizes the role of intestinal ultrasound in the detection and follow-up of inflammatory bowel disease.
Keywords:
Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis
Monitoring
Transmural healing
Postsurgical recurrence
Ultrasound
Resumen
Las técnicas de imagen desempeñan un papel fundamental en el diagnóstico inicial y seguimiento de la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal. La ecografía intestinal tiene alta sensibilidad y especificidad en la sospecha de la enfermedad de Crohn, en la detección de actividad inflamatoria y permite el diagnóstico temprano de complicaciones intraabdominales, como estenosis, fístulas y abscesos; además, ha demostrado su utilidad en la monitorización del tratamiento y en la recurrencia posquirúrgica. El desarrollo técnico de los equipos de ecografía, la incorporación de avances tecnológicos como el contraste ecográfico o la elastografía y, sobre todo, una mayor experiencia, han impulsado su papel en la evaluación de la patología del tubo digestivo. La ecografía es particularmente atractiva gracias a su amplia disponibilidad, su inocuidad, bajo coste y buena reproducibilidad, ya que puede repetirse de forma fácil y bien tolerada por el paciente durante el seguimiento. Esta revisión resume el papel de la ecografía intestinal en la detección y seguimiento de pacientes con enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal.
Palabras clave:
Enfermedad de Crohn
Colitis ulcerosa
Monitorización
Curación transmural
Recurrencia posquirúrgica
Ecografía
Article
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