Is Elastography Useful in Assessing Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Rats?

Abstract

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is among the most common and destructive diseases in the neonatal period. Imaging methods are important in the early diagnosis and treatment of such diseases. Ultrasound elastography (USE) is a fast and non-invasive imaging technique that deals with the viscoelastic properties of tissues. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of USE, which determines tissue stiffness with grayscale and colored images, as an imaging tool in the diagnosis and treatment of NEC. Materials and Methods: Sixteen newborn Wistar albino gender rats were separated into two groups including eight rats each. The first group (G-I) was taken as a control group and was not exposed to any intervention. The second group (G-II) was exposed to 100% CO2 for 5 minutes and 4°C for 10 minutes. All these interventions were applied twice per day for 4 days. We observed elastographic data at 24, 48, and 96 hours. All rats were sacrificed on the fourth day. The combination of gray-scale US and elastography was performed by a 4-13 MHz with an average of 12 MHz bandwidth linear probe in Esaote Ultrasonography Systems, MyLab60 model, produced in Geneva, Italy; with ElaXto imaging application. Results: Statistically significant differences were detected in elastosonography ratios of terminal ileum at 24, 48, and 96 hours (P < 0.05). As ischemia period in NEC was prolonged, elastosonographic ratios of intestinum increased significantly. Conclusion: It was found that USE is a reliable technique with superior features in the assessment of the terminal ileum in the neonatal age group. It is due to its wide image window and better assessment of tissue stiffness with gray scale and color image. It has been observed that the USE technique is helpful in the diagnosis.