Small intestine contrast ultrasonography (SICUS): An alternative to radiology in the assessment of small bowel disease in paediatric patients with Crohn's disease

Abstract

Background. Radiological assessment, with either small bowel follow-through (SBFT) or enema (CE), is the reference standard in Crohn's disease (CD), for the diagnosis of lesions located in the small bowel [1] that, except for the terminal ileum and duodenum, is not accessible to routine endoscopy. However the radiation exposure limits the use of radiology in the follow-up of CD patients. In adult subjects small intestine contrast ultrasonography (SICUS), performed after distension of small bowel lumen with a solution containing the inert not absorbable and not fermentable macrogol, is comparable to radiological examination in detecting presence, number, extension and site(s) of small bowel lesions [2,3].