The use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for chronic inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Intestinal ultrasound is a non-invasive, inexpensive, accessible imaging technique that is appropriate for the study of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It provides an assessment of inflammatory activity and complications with a diagnostic accuracy similar to that of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). Furthermore, it has proven to be of great value for the follow-up and monitoring of these patients. The addition of contrast enhancement has improved the diagnostic ability of intestinal ultrasound in the assessment of both inflammatory activity and complications. The development of dynamic studies able to quantify contrast arrival and determine a number of parameters in time-intensity curves (TICs) has increased the capability of intestinal ultrasound to identify inflammation and predict response to biologic therapy.