Correlation of Intestinal Ultrasound Data with Laboratory Markers of Inflammation for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Intestinal ultrasound is a new non-invasive imaging method that can be used for diagnostics of inflammatory bowel disease, to evaluate the response to therapy, and monitor serious complications of the disease in time. A prospective study was performed in Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital. Thirty patients were enrolled in the study: 21 patients with ulcerative colitis and 9 patients with Crohn’s disease. Intestinal ultrasound was performed using Diagnostic Ultra-sound System Arietta S70 (Hitachi, Japan). Intestinal wall structure (thickness), blood flow (Limberg score), intraluminal content, mesenteric fat hypertrophy and lymph nodes were evaluated, and laboratory markers of inflammation and clinical activity indices were analysed. Increased bowel wall thickness (BWT) (≥ 3 mm) was detected in 22 patients (73.3%), and wall stratification in 17 patients (56.7%). Using statistical analysis, it was concluded that there was a positive and statistically significant correlation between bowel wall thickness and ferritin (r = 0.60; p < 0.001), CRP (r = 0.49, p = 0.006), and faecal calprotectin (r = 0.84, p < 0.001). Intestinal ultra-sound is a promising real time monitoring method for both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which showed statistically significant correlations between bowel wall thickness, bowel wall stratification, blood flow, laboratory markers of inflammation and clinical activity indices.