Ultrasonography in inflammatory bowel disease - So far we are?

Abstract

Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) is a non-invasive and accurate tool to assess inflammatory bowel disease. The ECCO-ESGAR guideline recommends the use of IUS for the assessment of disease activity and complications in Crohn's disease (CD). In addition, an increasing body of evidence suggests the use of IUS as alternative to colonoscopy in monitoring CD and in assessing disease activity of ulcerative colitis. Early responsiveness of IUS findings by the first weeks of treatment and the advantage to perform the procedure in real time may dramatically change frequency of the assessment of treatment response in the future and speed up the clinical decision-making process. Development of validated and reproducible sonographic scores to measure disease activity and therapeutic response and spread of knowledge of IUS remain relevant issues for the future in which current researchers and the International Bowel Ultrasound (IBUS) Group are actively engaged.

Keywords: Crohn's disease; ibd; inflammatory bowel disease; intestinal ultrasound; perineal ultrasound; ulcerative colitis.