Diagnostic value of trans-abdominal intestinal ultrasound in postoperative recurrence and complications of Crohn′s disease

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of trans-abdominal ultrasound in detecting postoperative recurrence in crohn′s disease. Methods A total of 32 patients in PUMCH who received curative resection for the treatment of CD were enrolled. All the patients underwent trans-abdominal ultrasound for the detection of postoperative recurrence of CD. Based on the enteroscopy, histopathology and the Crohn′s Disease Active Index, we divided all patients into the active phase group and the quiescent phase group. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of transabdominal ultrasound in detecting postoperative recurrence of CD, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value were measured. Results Among the 32 patients, there were 30 patients in the active phase group, and 2 in the quiescent group. For two ultrasonic signs, the bowel wall thickness>3 mm, the loss of bowel wall stratification, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value were 97%, 100%, 100%, 67%, respectively. A total of 29 cases were accurately diagnosed by ultrasound, and the overall accuracy of ultrasound in detecting fistula (on the anastomosis and other site) and anastomotic stenosis were 100%, 100%, respectively. Conclusions Due to the specific imaging features of clinical anastomotic recurrence, the trans-abdominal ultrasound plays an important role in monitoring the postoperative recurrence of CD. Key words: Trans-abdominal intestinal ultrasound; Crohn′s disease; Postoperative recurrence