Zhao Jie-Ying, Gao Xin, Zhuang Hua, Wu Yu-Ting, Luo Yuan, Jing Ji-Gang, Zhang Yan
Department of Ultrasound, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Department of Gastroenterology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2021 Jun;11(6):2677-2687. doi: 10.21037/qims-20-877.
Elastography has not been widely applied to the gastrointestinal tract. The bowel wall's normal elasticity values are still unknown and are necessary for studies of gastrointestinal diseases. This study explores the feasibility of using shear wave elastography (SWE) to measure the terminal ileum wall stiffness in healthy subjects and establish the corresponding normal ranges of elasticity values.
This observational study recruited 139 healthy adult volunteers from April to July 2020. All examinations were performed in the anterior terminal ileum wall. Shear wave velocity (SWV) and Young's modulus (E) values were measured in the midline on longitudinal sections and replicated different operators' obtained data. Also, bowel wall thickness (BWT) and depth were recorded. Subgroups were classified according to the volunteers' gender, age, body mass index (BMI), BWT, and depth. The intra-class correlation coefficient was calculated to analyze inter- and intra-operator consistency, and independent t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were used to explore the differences in variables.
The inter- and intra-operator agreements were good to excellent by different operators and in the replicated measurements (intra-operator consistency: 0.963; inter-operator consistency: 0.842). In all volunteers, the mean SWV was 1.08±0.25 m/s, the mean E value was 3.84±1.84 kPa, and the median BWT was 2 mm. SWV and E did not show significant differences according to gender (P=0.589), age (P=0.738), BMI (P=0.678), depth (P=0.375), or BWT (P=0.410). BWT did not show significant differences according to age (P=0.142), BMI (P=0.863), or depth (P=0.368).
SWE can be used in terminal ileum wall stiffness measurements with good reliability, and the SWE values do not appear to vary significantly according to different physiological factors. The corresponding elasticity ranges of the terminal ileum in normal adults were acquired.
弹性成像尚未广泛应用于胃肠道。肠壁的正常弹性值仍不清楚，而这对于胃肠道疾病的研究是必要的。本研究探讨了使用剪切波弹性成像（SWE）测量健康受试者回肠末端肠壁硬度并建立相应弹性值正常范围的可行性。
本观察性研究于2020年4月至7月招募了139名健康成年志愿者。所有检查均在前位回肠末端肠壁进行。在纵切面上的中线测量剪切波速度（SWV）和杨氏模量（E）值，并对不同操作者获得的数据进行重复测量。此外，记录肠壁厚度（BWT）和深度。根据志愿者的性别、年龄、体重指数（BMI）、BWT和深度进行亚组分类。计算组内相关系数以分析操作者间和操作者内的一致性，并使用独立t检验和单因素方差分析来探讨变量的差异。
不同操作者以及重复测量时，操作者间和操作者内的一致性均良好至优秀（操作者内一致性：0.963；操作者间一致性：0.842）。在所有志愿者中，平均SWV为¬1.08±0.25 m/s，平均E值为3.84±1.84 kPa，BWT中位数为2 mm。SWV和E在性别（P = 0.589）、年龄（P = 0.738）、BMI（P = 0.678）、深度（P = 0.375）或BWT（P = 0.410）方面未显示出显著差异。BWT在年龄（P = 0.142）、BMI（P = 0.863）或深度（P = 0.368）方面未显示出显著差异。
SWE可用于回肠末端肠壁硬度测量，可靠性良好，且SWE值似乎不会因不同生理因素而有显著差异。获得了正常成年人回肠末端相应的弹性范围。
