Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1760233 | Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology | 2016 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
We tested real-time sonoelastography (RTS) in-vivo to differentiate fibrotic from inflammatory terminal ileum strictures in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), using magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) as a reference standard. Sixteen patients (13 male, 3 female; median [interquartile interval] age = 41 [31-48.5] y; median C-reactive protein (CRP) = 0.95 [0-2.23] mg/dL; median disease duration = 108.5 [35-213.75] mo; median Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) = 3 [3-5.25]) with terminal ileum CD were prospectively included. Short-axis scans were performed; each cross-section was ideally sub-divided into eight circular sectors. Color map provided by RTS was translated into semi-quantitative scale (1 = red; 2 = green; 3 = blue). At MRE, inflammation was seen in nine patients and fibrosis in seven. Total median RTS score was significantly lower in patients with inflammatory stricture (16 [16-18]) than in patients with fibrosis (20 [17.5-22]; p = 0.003). The same happened when the four most superficial quadrants of the loop were considered (8 [7-9] vs. 10 [9-11.5]; p = 0.003). No significant correlation was seen between RTS and HBI (r = 0.467; p = 0.686), RTS and CRP (r = â0.750; p = 0.567) or RTS and disease duration (r = 0.238; p = 0.483). RTS of the terminal ileum in patients with CD is feasible in-vivo, potentially differentiating between fibrotic and inflammatory strictures.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Acoustics and Ultrasonics
Authors
Luca Maria Sconfienza, Flaminia Cavallaro, Valentino Colombi, Luca Pastorelli, Gianeugenio Tontini, Lorenzo Pescatori, Anastassia Esseridou, Edoardo Savarino, Carmelo Messina, Roberto Casale, Giovanni Di Leo, Francesco Sardanelli, Maurizio Vecchi,