Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) shear wave elastography of the bowel wall in healthy volunteers and in ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND: Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography is a non-invasive, ultrasound-based approach of evaluation of tissue elasticity. It has not yet been systematically applied to the bowel wall. PURPOSE: To perform ARFI elastography of the bowel wall in healthy volunteers and patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A high-frequency ultrasound (with bowel wall thickness and vascularization score) and an ARFI elastography of the bowel wall were performed in 20 patients with UC and 13 healthy volunteers. At least 10 ARFI measurements were obtained within the terminal ileum and the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon and correlated with results of high-frequency ultrasound. RESULTS: The UC group had mostly moderate disease activity. All patients had signs of inflammation upon B-mode ultrasound. Eight patients showed an ulcerative (ileo)pancolitis. Overall, ARFI elastography values and wall thickness were higher in the UC group than in the group of healthy volunteers (P = 0.021 and P < 0.001, respectively). ARFI velocities of the separate segments were significantly higher in the transverse (P = 0.045) and sigmoid colon (P = 0.032) in case of UC. CONCLUSION: ARFI elastography of the bowel wall of the colonic frame and the terminal ileum is feasible but shows high standard deviation. ARFI shear wave velocities appear to be slightly higher in patients with UC than in healthy volunteers, particularly in the sigmoid and transverse colon. Further studies are needed.