Crăciun Rareș, Tanțău Marcel, Tefas Cristian
Department of Internal Medicine, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400008 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Gastroenterology Clinic, "Prof. Dr. O. Fodor" Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
J Clin Med. 2025 Jun 5;14(11):3992. doi: 10.3390/jcm14113992.
: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is characterized by cycles of inflammation and tissue remodeling that can culminate in fibrosis. Differentiating between early inflammatory and fibrotic bowel wall changes remains a diagnostic challenge due to overlapping imaging features. This study aimed to assess the potential of elastography, specifically pixel histogram analysis, as a non-invasive method to identify acute inflammatory changes in a rat model of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic (TNBS)-induced colitis. : Female CRL:Wi rats were randomized into control and experimental groups, with the latter receiving intracolonic TNBS to induce acute colitis. On day 7 post-induction, all animals underwent ultrasonographic and strain elastographic assessment of the distal colon using a standardized protocol. Histogram-based analysis of red, green, and blue pixel distributions was performed on elastographic video frames. Results were compared with histologic grading of inflammation and fibrosis using hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome staining. : Rats with TNBS-induced colitis exhibited significant weight loss, increased bowel wall thickness (31.5% vs. controls, < 0.01), and elevated elastographic pixel intensity across all color channels ( < 0.05). Histologically, experimental animals showed severe inflammation and early submucosal fibrosis. A strong positive correlation was found between elastographic histogram values and histologic fibrosis scores (r = 0.86, < 0.01), confirming the technique's diagnostic relevance. : Elastographic pixel histogram analysis is a reproducible, non-invasive approach capable of distinguishing acute inflammatory changes and early fibrotic remodeling in experimental colitis. These findings support its potential application as a diagnostic adjunct in the early assessment and monitoring of IBD-related bowel wall changes.
炎症性肠病（IBD）包括克罗恩病和溃疡性结肠炎，其特征是炎症和组织重塑循环，最终可导致纤维化。由于成像特征重叠，区分早期炎症性和纤维化肠壁变化仍然是一项诊断挑战。本研究旨在评估弹性成像（尤其是像素直方图分析）作为一种非侵入性方法在2,4,6-三硝基苯磺酸（TNBS）诱导的大鼠结肠炎模型中识别急性炎症变化的潜力。：雌性CRL:Wi大鼠被随机分为对照组和实验组，后者接受结肠内注射TNBS以诱导急性结肠炎。诱导后第7天，所有动物按照标准化方案对远端结肠进行超声和应变弹性成像评估。对弹性成像视频帧进行基于直方图的红、绿、蓝像素分布分析。结果与苏木精-伊红染色和Masson三色染色的炎症和纤维化组织学分级进行比较。：TNBS诱导的结肠炎大鼠体重显著减轻，肠壁厚度增加（31.5% vs. 对照组，<0.01），所有颜色通道的弹性成像像素强度均升高（<0.05）。组织学上，实验动物表现出严重炎症和早期黏膜下纤维化。弹性成像直方图值与组织学纤维化评分之间存在强正相关（r = 0.86，<0.01），证实了该技术的诊断相关性。：弹性成像像素直方图分析是一种可重复的非侵入性方法，能够区分实验性结肠炎中的急性炎症变化和早期纤维化重塑。这些发现支持其作为IBD相关肠壁变化早期评估和监测的诊断辅助手段的潜在应用。
