Correlation analysis of ultrasonography and colonoscopy data in ulcerative colitis | Ukrainian Medical Journal

The aim: to investigate the possibilities of ultrasound diagnostics in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and concomitant arterial hypertension (AH) and to conduct a correlation analysis between the thickness of the intestinal wall and the severity of UC according to Mayo.

Object and methods of the study. A total of 142 patients were examined. Among them, 53.5% were men and 46.5% were women. The average age of patients was 40.6 years. Of those examined, 96 patients (67.6%) were diagnosed with UC during colonoscopy with biopsy. The same patients underwent transabdominal ultrasound of the intestine. A correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the activity of UC disease according to endoscopy and the thickness of the intestinal wall on ultrasound. For this purpose, two groups were combined: «UC + AH» and «UC without AH».

Results. This study showed the possibilities of ultrasound in the assessment of the intestine not only in the context of safety, non-invasiveness, but also in the assessment of intestinal wall thickness, preservation or disruption of the intestinal layered structure. Based on the correlation analysis, statistically significant direct correlations were found between the following parameters age and duration of the disease (rho=0.325; p=0.001); intestinal wall thickness and Mayo severity of UC (rho=0.395; p<0.001); intestinal wall thickness and systolic blood pressure (rho=0.473; p<0.001); intestinal wall thickness and diastolic blood pressure (rho=0.450; p<0.001).

Conclusion. Intestinal ultrasound is an accessible, non-invasive, inexpensive method that can be used to suspect, detect and monitor the course of UC in a timely manner. Increasingly, ultrasound is used to assess the condition of the intestines and adjacent structures, but there are still some obstacles to the widespread use of this procedure.

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