ECHOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSTICS OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are pathologies that have various clinical manifestations, which sometimes cause problems in putting a correct diagnosis by clinicians. The review of domestic and foreign literature highlighted the relevance in improving the diagnostics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Modern diagnostic techniques (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, various endoscopic and radiological methods) are widespread in clinical practice, but they have a number of limitations in pediatric practice and are associated with certain risks. Significant drawbacks are radiation loading at the child’s organism and general anesthesia. So, a diagnostic tool which provides sufficient information, widely available, safe and non-invasive is a need . The ultrasound examination meets all the above mentioned demands. Unfortunately, currently there are no explicit protocols to be used for ultrasound examination of children with CD and UC. Researches in this direction should be continued, so as to confirm the effectiveness of this technique in diagnosing the intestinal tube pathology and to develop algorithms for practical application of this imaging technique, particular in pediatric patients with IBD.