[Transabdominal ultrasound - a method of assessing IBD]

Intestinal ultrasound (IUS), which is performed as transabdominal ultrasound, is a method of assessing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that has gained worldwide recognition in recent years. It is widely adopted by gastroenterologists in large parts of Europe and North America, and its implementation continues to spread to new countries. IUS is non-invasive, complication-free, does not entail radiation, is cost-effective, does not have contraindications and is appreciated by patients. It does not require any patient preparation and can be used as a point-of-care examination. Energy and material consumption are minimal. IUS is included in the ECCO-ESGAR (European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation; European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology) guidelines for diagnostic assessment of IBD and holds similar diagnostic sensitivity and specificity as other modalities such as MR and CT enterography. Recent research suggests that IUS can be used to evaluate early treatment response in acute severe colitis and to predict long-term response to therapy in IBD patients. The ability of IUS to assess transmural healing has led to the proposal of using IUS as an endpoint in clinical trials. Intestinal ultrasound has the potential to become a standard cross-sectional imaging modality for monitoring IBD patients and is currently underused in Sweden.