Intestinal ultrasound feasible for detecting pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Intestinal ultrasound (IU) can be considered a screening tool for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study published online Dec. 24 in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

Hamza Hassan Khan, M.D., from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and colleagues compared IU findings to clinical disease, fecal calprotectin (FC), and endoscopic findings in newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients. The analysis included 50 pediatric patients (median age, 13.5 years) undergoing colonoscopy (50 percent with IBD).

The researchers found that IU sensitivity was 76 percent, specificity 84 percent, positive predictive value 83 percent, and negative predictive value 78 percent for diagnosing IBD. For detection of moderate-to-severe disease, performance was 91.3, 86.21, 84.0, and 92.6 percent, respectively. There was a significant correlation seen between IU and FC, the Mayo score, and Simple Endoscopic Score (0.513, 0.565, and 0.731, respectively). Pearson correlations for the Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index and Pediatric Crohn’s Disease Activity Index scores were 0.070 and −0.159, respectively.

“IU can be considered a screening tool for pediatric IBD,” the authors write. “Larger multicenter studies are needed in pediatrics to establish pediatric-specific scoring systems and support responses to treatment algorithms.”

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