Real-time elastography in Crohn’s disease: feasibility in dailyrnclinical practice

摘要

Ultrasound (US) is the first-line investigation inrnpatients with abdominal symptoms and it has a role in therndiagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory bowel diseases.rnStrain elastography (SE) is a US method for estimatingrntissue elasticity. This method is still not routinely used inrnclinical practice, although it is suggested by the EFSUMBrnGuidelines for the characterization of intestinal stenosis inrnCrohn’s disease. The purpose of this Pictorial Essay is tornconfirm the feasibility of elastography in Crohn’s diseasernin clinical practice by comparing elastography images withrncorresponding endoscopic or radiological images. At present,rndiagnostic accuracy of SE is reported in the literaturernonly in connection with detection of bowel wall fibrosis inrnadvanced cases of Crohn’s disease. However, in ourrnopinion, SE can add useful diagnostic information torngrayscale and color Doppler US by providing a morernaccurate characterization of the bowel wall in the variousrnmanifestations of Crohn’s disease.