Abstract
Objective
To assess the value of time-intensity curves obtained after sulphur hefluoride-filled microbubble contrast agent injection to discriminate responders from non-responders among patients with Crohn’s disease (CD).
Methods
Forty-three patients (29 male and 14 female; mean age ± SD, 48.5 ± 17.17 years) with initial diagnosis of active CD were recruited. In each patient, the therapeutic outcome was assessed after 12 weeks from the beginning of pharmacologic treatment. The terminal ileal loop was scanned after sulphur hexafluoride-filled microbubble injection, and the digital cine-clip registered during the first-pass dynamic enhancement was quantified in gray-scale levels. The percentage of maximal enhancement, time to peak enhancement, and area under the time-intensity curve in responders vs. non-responders were compared by Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test.
Results
Responders (n = 25 patients) vs. non-responders (n = 18) differed in the area under the time-intensity curve (621.58 ± 374.53 vs. 1,199.64 ± 386.39 P < 0.05), while they did not differ in percentage of maximal enhancement (41.26 ± 15.22 vs. 43.17 ± 4.41, P = 0.25) and time to peak enhancement (11.31 ± 3.06 vs. 10.12 ± 3.47, P = 0.15).
Conclusions
The area under the time-intensity curve obtained after microbubble injection was the only parameter to discriminate responders from non-responders among patients with CD during pharmacologic treatment.
Key Points
• Dynamic ultrasound using microbubble contrast agents can help assess inflammatory bowel disease
• Time-intensity curves can assess therapeutic outcome in Crohn’s disease (CD)
• The area under the time-intensity curve differentiates responders from non-responders during pharmacological treatment
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Abbreviations
- CD:
-
Crohn’s disease
- CDAI:
-
Crohn’s disease activity index
- CEUS:
-
contrast-enhanced US
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Quaia, E., Cabibbo, B., De Paoli, L. et al. The value of time-intensity curves obtained after microbubble contrast agent injection to discriminate responders from non-responders to anti-inflammatory medication among patients with Crohn’s disease. Eur Radiol 23, 1650–1659 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-012-2754-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-012-2754-1