Non-invasive evaluation of activity in inflammatory bowel disease by power Doppler sonography.
BACKGROUND
To study the vascularization in the diseased bowel wall by power Doppler sonography in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.


METHODS
The diseased bowel wall was investigated in 99 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (60 patients with Crohn's disease and 39 patients with ulcerative colitis) either with active disease or in remission by B-mode and power Doppler sonography. Disease activity was determined by clinical indices. Twenty healthy age and sex matched individuals served as controls.


RESULTS
Bowel wall was thickened in active Crohn's disease (mean 7 mm, range 4-14) and ulcerative colitis (mean 5 mm, range 2-15) as compared to healthy controls (mean 2 mm, range 1-3), p < 0.001. In contrast to healthy controls blood vessels were detected in the bowel wall in 100 % of patients with active Crohn's disease and 91 % with active ulcerative colitis. Vascularization was significant decreased in patients with quiescent versus active disease in ulcerative colitis (p < 0.05), while in Crohn's disease there was no significance between active and remission phase.


CONCLUSIONS
Thickened and hypervascularized bowel wall are characteristic findings in inflammatory bowel disease. A combination of B-mode and power Doppler sonography offers an additional noninvasive procedure for the determination of activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Heyne
R
R
Dept. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, University Hospital Charité (Campus Mitte), 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Rickes
S
S
Bock
P
P
Schreiber
S
S
Wermke
W
W
Lochs
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color