Intestinal ultrasound for monitoring therapeutic response in patients with ulcerative colitis: results from the TRUST&UC study.

Objective: Prospective evaluation of intestinal ultrasound (IUS) for disease monitoring of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in routine medical practice.

Design: TRansabdominal Ultrasonography of the bowel in Subjects with IBD To monitor disease activity with UC (TRUST&UC) was a prospective, observational study at 42 German inflammatory bowel disease-specialised centres representing different care levels. Patients with a diagnosis of a proctosigmoiditis, left-sided colitis or pancolitis currently in clinical relapse (defined as Short Clinical Colitis Activity Index ≥5) were enrolled consecutively.

Clinical Ultrasound in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Ultrasound should be the first-line imaging method in the medical care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. It can be used to differentiate between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and to detect numerous complications like stenoses, fistulas, and abscesses. As the method is also highly suitable for follow-up, stressful endoscopic procedures and examinations involving radiation are less necessary.

Instant evaluation of contrast enhanced endoscopic ultrasound helps to differentiate various solid pancreatic lesions in daily routine.

Background: Contrast enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasound (CEH-EUS) is a spreading technique; some studies have shown its value in the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma using quantitative analysis.

Aim: To examine the value of CEH-EUS for differentiating various pancreatic lesions in everyday routine with qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Methods: Data of 55 patients with pancreatic lesions who underwent CEH-EUS were analysed retrospectively.

The use of ultrasound in inflammatory bowel disease.

Imaging in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) plays a pivotal role in the primary diagnosis, as well as during the management of patients with known IBD. The evolution of ultrasound equipment and the growing expertise of examiners have both enhanced the role of intestinal ultrasound in the assessment of the gastrointestinal tract in IBD patients. Intestinal ultrasound has been shown to have high sensitivity and specificity, as well as high positive and negative predictive value, in the detection or exclusion of intestinal inflammatory activity in IBD.

Clinic-based Point of Care Transabdominal Ultrasound for Monitoring Crohn's Disease: Impact on Clinical Decision Making.

Background And Aims: The use of cross-sectional imaging is important to characterise inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] activity, extent, and location and to exclude complications, regardless of symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of routine use of sonography in the management of inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods: A total of 49 patients with Crohn's disease were prospectively evaluated.

Contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasound is able to discriminate benign submucosal lesions from gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Background: Although endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has improved the diagnostic of potential malignancies, gastric lesions with suspicion of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) or benign lesions like lipoma or leiomyoma can often not be accurately differentiated by EUS, therefore, requiring tissue sampling with the risk of bleeding complications especially in GIST. As with the newest generation of EUS machines, contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasound (CEH-EUS) has become a new option to determine perfusion characteristics. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate whether CEH-EUS may help to discriminate various submucosal lesions.