ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To assess the value of small bowel wall vascularity after microbubble contrast agent injection in evaluating the therapeutic effectiveness of specific anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with Crohn's disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients (7 male and 8 female; mean age+/-SD, 40 years+/-6) with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of Crohn's disease--Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI)>150 (n=12 patients) or <150 (n=3)--involving the terminal loop of the small bowel (wall thickness>5 mm) were included. In each patient the terminal loop was scanned by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) after sulfur hexafluoride-filled microbubble injection before and after 6-month anti-inflammatory treatment. The vascularity of the terminal loop was quantified in gray-scale levels (0-255) by a manually drawn ROI encompassing the thickened bowel wall and it was correlated with CDAI. RESULT: Before the beginning of the specific treatment all patients revealed diffuse transparietal contrast enhancement after microbubble injection, except for 3 patients who revealed contrast enhancement limited to the submucosa. In 13 patients the slope of the first ascending tract and the area under the enhancement curve were significantly lower after anti-inflammatory treatment (P<0.05; Wilcoxon test) with a significant correlation with the CDAI score (rho=0.85, P<0.05). In 2 patients no significant vascularity changes were found even though a mild reduction of CDAI score was identified (from 200 to 150 gray-scale levels). CONCLUSION: CEUS is a useful method to assess the therapeutic effectiveness of specific medical anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with Crohn's disease.
Subject(s)
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/administration & dosage , Crohn Disease/diagnostic imaging , Crohn Disease/drug therapy , Intestine, Small/blood supply , Intestine, Small/diagnostic imaging , Sulfur Hexafluoride , Ultrasonography/methods , Adult , Contrast Media , Female , Humans , Image Enhancement/methods , Injections, Intravenous , Male , Microbubbles , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Sulfur Hexafluoride/administration & dosage , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
In this paper we present an overview of CT-Urography. With the advent of multislice CT scanners and the evolution of image processing methods this technique now affords optimal urographic images comparable to those obtained with conventional techniques. We describe the acquisition techniques and protocols used by the various authors. Effective radiation dose has conditioned the use of CT-Urography so that the tendency today is to reduce the number of scans by performing, after the nonenhanced scan, a single contrast-enhanced scan comprising both the nephrographic and urographic phase. With the use of multislice CT the quality of the urogram improves with the number of slices. We illustrate a variety of processing techniques, multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), maximum (MIP) and average intensity projection (AIP) and volume rendering (VR) and present a series of upper urinary tract tumours testifying to the superiority of the AIP technique over MIP. We then review the results of comparative studies of CT-Urography with conventional urography in upper urinary tract diagnostics. Finally, we describe the advantages and limitations of CT-Urography.
