title: [The usefulness of Doppler sonography in the assessment of disease activity of ulcerative colitis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC) is generally assessed using symptoms, laboratory data, endoscopic findings, and histology of the biopsy specimens. In this study, we compared disease activity of UC as determined by clinical features and endoscopic findings, and aimed to assess the clinical usefulness of Doppler sonography.
  
  
  METHODS
  the duplex Doppler sonography of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) of 10 patients with clinically inactive UC and 20 patients with active UC were evaluated by one radiologist who was blinded to clinical information. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), resistance index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) of the SMA and IMA were evaluated. All patients underwent biochemical and endoscopic evaluations thereafter. Correlation between disease activity by the Truelove-Witts classification and the Mayo scoring system was measured, and we compared hemodynamic parameters between active and inactive UC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  correlation rate of disease activity between these two scoring systems was 93.3%. Flow velocities (PSV, p<0.001 and EDV, p=0.03) and PI (p=0.03) were significantly higher in patients with active UC than inactive UC. PSVs of the SMA and IMA were also significantly correlated with disease severity. The active UC could be accurately diagnosed using Doppler sonography (AUC=0.83; 95% confidence interval 0.68-0.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  in patients with UC, clinical stage was well matched with endoscopic disease activity. Doppler sonography was a readily available method, and PSV of SMA would be clinically useful in predicting of disease activity and severity.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: You Suk
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Woo Chul
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sung Su
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Kang Moon
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chang Nyol
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: Young Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Bo In
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Gyu Yong
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D003113:Colonoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017537:Mesenteric Artery, Inferior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017538:Mesenteric Artery, Superior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex