title: Inflammatory activity in Crohn's disease: CE-US.
abstract: The evaluation of inflammatory activity in Crohn's disease (CD), a crucial aspect of treatment planning and monitoring, is currently based on a sum of clinical data and imaging findings. Among the contrast enhanced cross-sectional imaging techniques (CE-US, CE-CT, CE-MR), CE-US is less invasive, more comfortable for the patient, and has significant diagnostic accuracy. In addition, it is a portable, easily repeatable, well tolerated, and ionizing radiation-free imaging modality. CE-US has been introduced as effective method in the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of CD inflammatory activity. CE-US might help in characterizing bowel-wall thickening by differentiating inflammatory neovascularisation, edema, and fibrosis. The recent chance to evaluate the bowel-wall stiffness by US elastography imaging could allow further assessment of fibrosis that characterizes the evolution of the inflammatory activity.
authors.affiliation: SMIRG FOUNDATION, Sardinian Mediterranean Imaging Research Group-No Profit Foundation/Diagnostic Imaging Unit, Sassari, Italy. migaleddu@smirg.org
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Migaleddu
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quaia
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scanu
authors.forename: Serra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carla
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bertolotto
authors.forename: Girolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campisi
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sirigu
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Virgilio
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D045423:Microbubbles; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media