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gastrointestinal ultrasound
Indications:
- visualization of the bowel & bowel wall
- distingishing vascular from avascular intestinal or peri-intestinal lesions, including abscesses
- assessing splanchnic blood flow
- assessing gastrointestinal motility
Procedure:
- transabdominal ultrasound to assess the normal bowel anatomy, vascularization, & luminal width
- no specific preparation for standard examination of intestine
- fasting > 6 hours for measuring splanchnic blood flow
- overnight fasting for measuring gastrointestinal motility
- both high & resolution probe needed for complete examination of the bowel
- frequency > 5 MHz to meausure wall thickness
- bowel wall thickness < 2 mm normal (except duodenal bulb, rectum)
- measure perpendicular to bowel wall
- color doppler imaging to evaluate the vascularization of pathological bowel wall
- resistive index in superior mesenteric artery 0.80-0.89 considered normal
- peak systolic velocity of superior mesenteric artery of 80-220 cm/sec considered normal
- contrast-enhanced ultrasound to separate vascular from avascular intestinal or peri-intestinal lesions, including abscesses
- ultrasound elastography to evaluate stiffness of pathological thickened bowel
- gastrointestinal ultrasound for anatomical location of the bowel, peristalsis, & luminal content
General
ultrasound (US, UTZ)
References
- Anello J, Feinberg B, Heinegg J et al
Gastrointestinal Ultrasonography
Guidelines on gastrointestinal ultrasound by the European
Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology.
Medscape: New Guidelines and Recommendations, August 2017.
http://reference.medscape.com/viewarticle/884517