Federica Branchi, Flavio Caprioli, Stefania Orlando, Dario Conte, Mirella Fraquelli, Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy.
World J Gastroenterol. 2017 Apr 28;23(16):2832-2840. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i16.2832.
Over the recent years the non-invasive techniques for the evaluation of the small bowel have been playing a major role in the management of chronic intestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The diagnostic performances of magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and ultrasound in the field of small bowel disorders, have been assessed and established for more than two decades. Newer sonographic techniques, such as strain elastography and shear wave elastography, have been put forward for the assessment of disease activity and characterization of IBD-related damage in the setting of Crohn's disease and other gastrointestinal disorders. The data from the preliminary research and clinical studies have shown promising results as regards the ability of elastographic techniques to differentiate inflammatory from fibrotic tissue. The distinction between IBD activity (inflammation) and IBD-related damage (fibrosis) is currently considered crucial for the assessment and management of patients. Moreover, all the elastographic techniques are currently being considered in the setting of other intestinal disorders (., rectal tumors, appendicitis). The aim of this paper is to offer both a comprehensive narrative review of the non-invasive techniques available for the assessment of small-bowel disorders, with particular emphasis on inflammatory bowel diseases, and a summary of the current evidence on the use of elastographic techniques in this setting.
近年来，非侵入性技术在慢性肠道疾病（如炎症性肠病[IBD]）的治疗中发挥了重要作用。磁共振成像、计算机断层扫描和超声在小肠疾病领域的诊断性能已被评估和确立了二十多年。新技术如应变弹性成像和剪切波弹性成像等，已被提出用于评估疾病活动和克罗恩病及其他胃肠道疾病中 IBD 相关损伤的特征。初步研究和临床研究的数据显示，弹性成像技术在区分炎症和纤维组织方面具有良好的效果。区分 IBD 活动（炎症）和 IBD 相关损伤（纤维化）目前被认为是评估和治疗患者的关键。此外，所有弹性成像技术目前都在其他肠道疾病（例如直肠肿瘤、阑尾炎）的治疗中得到了考虑。本文的目的是全面叙述性地综述用于评估小肠疾病的非侵入性技术，特别强调炎症性肠病，并总结目前在这种情况下使用弹性成像技术的证据。
