Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Bowel Wall Thickness and Intramural Blood Flow in Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

Aim. This study aimed at assessing Doppler ultrasonographic findings of gut wall vessels and thickness in active and quiescent ulcerative colitis. Methods. Fifty patients with ulcerative colitis were studied using transabdominal grayscale and Doppler sonography of sigmoid, distal and middle parts of descending colon in different stages of the disease. Thickness of colon wall in the most involved site, number of color signals in each box, resistive index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) were evaluated. Results. The median thickness of the colon wall in the most involved sites was 4.3 mm in acute phase and 4.4 mm in the inactive phase (P=0.47). The median number of the color signals in the active phase at the most involved site, distal part of descending colon and sigmoid was higher than that of the color signals in the inactive phase (P=0.0001). In the most involved site, the PI and RI were undetectable in the inactive phase. The median PI was 1.4 in the mild phase, 1.3 in the moderate phase, and 1.1 in the severe phase (P=0.002). Conclusion. In contrast to the colon wall thickness, increased intramural blood flow reflected the clinical severity in ulcerative colitis patients.