Ultrasonography of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases

Advances in the understanding of bowel appearances with high-resolution son ography have led to consideration of this technique as an important toot fo r bowel disease assessment. Ultrasonography may display the transformation of the intestinal wall from normal to pathological state in inflammatory di seases. Furthermore, intestinal ultrasonography may serve as a diagnostic c lue if typical patterns of the bowel wall are demonstrated. Thus, Crohn's d isease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, or infectious ileocolitis may b e specifically demonstrated in the majority of cases. Besides showing the p arietal signs of inflammation, ultrasonography also shows the perigut abnor malities and may demonstrate complications such as fistulas and abscesses. Finally, with the help of Doppler, some additional information may be obtai ned about the activity of chronic inflammatory diseases. In clinical practi ce, used in combination with other imaging modalities, such as CT or endosc opy, bowel ultrasonography appears to be a non-invasive and effective diagn ostic tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of Crohn's disease and ulcerativ e colitis.