Have you had an ultrasound for IBD?

[nogutsnoglory]

I am reading more and more that non invasive tests like ultrasounds are being used in IBD. The place I'm going to has an anal ultrasound. I'm not sure if they will use that on me but I wanted to know if anyone here had ultrasound used and for what part. Was it effective at showing disease?

 

[Novice]

I've had one. wasn't specifically for crohns though. I get this horrible intense pain under my left rib when it first happened I was convinced I would never experience that much pain again lol. They did an ultra sound to check my pancreas but it didn't show anything and still not sure now what causes the pain. Just another gift from crohns. Part of me would prefer cts and mris I personally feel like im more likely to get answers and not feel like I wasted my money.

 

[kiny]

I have, and no it's not as effective as say an MRI.

It's particularly useful if there is bleeding or if there is leakage of fluids, a colonoscopy needs a clean bowel to see anything, and getting an MRI takes too long in emergencies, an ultrasound is fast and can show enough detail in an emergency. Ultrasound also doesn't require you to be completely still, it has no issues with blood loss or movement, another big advantage in an emergency.

But compared to an MRI, the detail is terrible.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Thanks Kiny what about for showing abscess activity?

 

[DustyKat]

My two have had ultrasounds. From my experience they can be a useful tool IF you have some idea of what you are looking for and the right person on the other end of the ultrasound.

Sarah: She had one when she was undiagnosed. Her pain was over the right kidney and it picked up what they thought was a PUJ abnormality. She was then sent for nuclear testing which proved that diagnosis to be wrong, it only picked up that she was slow to empty that kidney. IBD was not on the radar so it did not pick up that actual problem was hydronephrosis caused by the inflamed terminal ileum pressing against the right ureter and causing urine to back up into the kidney.

Matt: He has had five. Two Crohn's related and three not.

1. At the first suspicion of him having CD he was sent for an abdominal CT. When we arrived at radiology they were loathe to do a CT on a very slim 17 year old. They eventually rang the GP and recommended an ultrasound be done instead. I told the radiographer that the area of suspicion was the terminal ileum and we results that day indicating that all was normal except for some free fluid in his abdomen of unknown origin.

2. The GP and the GI did not believe the result so he was sent for another urgent ultrasound the next day. This time the radiologist was also in the room and they then found thickening of the terminal ileum.

3. A couple of months post op he had a queried hernia and it was thought to be an incisional one. He was sen for an ultrasound but they weren't able to locate it. It then went into hibernation for about 12 months.

4. A few months post op he experienced flank pain so the GP ran some tests including an ultrasound of his urinary system. This returned a normal result and he has had no further problems.

5. The queried incisional hernia appeared again but it was now apparent that it was an inguinal hernia and this time the ultrasound had no problem picking it up.

Dusty.

 

[DustyKat]

Okay miscued on the number after reading Kiny's post. :redface:

After reading re emergency I recall now that Sarah had an episode of severe acute pain a couple of years ago. It scared the bejesus out of me as she said she had never had pain like it since she was 14.

She presented to A&E and they did an ultrasound of her kidney's and gallbladder as well as her abdomen in general but did not find anything. The pain resolved over the next 24-48 hours and has never experienced anything like it since. I wonder if she passed a stone prior to getting to the hospital.

Dusty. xxx

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Thanks so much Dusty, it sounds like they can be a little unreliable but makes sense what you are saying about knowing what you are looking for. I agree that MR and CT is a much better tool but I have had so many of those I'm wondering if this can be implemented as part of my abscess treatment.

 

[DustyKat]

Ultrasounds are able to detect abscesses ngng.

I don't know if the success is location dependent but if the area is able to be accessed by the probe then I don't see that it should make a difference. That being the case then I think it would be well worth a try.

Dusty. xxx

 

[alex_chris]

Ultrasounds are used extensively around here. I must have had over a dozen over the years during routine check ups - it takes 5 minutes, doesn't really require any prep, so docs like it to check out whether there are any visible bloated areas in our intestine. It helps to check for more acute problems in your smaller intestine, while it doesn't really give an actual view of what is going on.

 

[Catherine]

Sarah has a ultrasound to query ovary cyst prior to Crohn's dx

This ultrasound shows thickening of the small bowel. A MRI 6 months later after dx confirmed thickening in the same place as the ultrasound.

Make sure your GI reads the ultrasound report.

 

[Crohn's gal since 1989]

I am reading more and more that non invasive tests like ultrasounds are being used in IBD. The place I'm going to has an anal ultrasound. I'm not sure if they will use that on me but I wanted to know if anyone here had ultrasound used and for what part. Was it effective at showing disease?

I had one on Wednesday. My GI is very anti CT scans. I've had 2 emergency
Room visits in the past 3 months and they love their CTs! With the new imaging they can see the small intestine and were able to determine that I had thickening of the intestinal wall at the terminal ileum, how long the strictured portion is, they also determined that I have no current inflammation and they could see that my lunch was having difficulty moving the narrowed portion. My GI used this decide on my surgery.