Clinical Utility of small bowel ultrasound assessment of Crohn’s Disease in Adults: A systematic scoping review

Radford, Shellie J.; Clarke, Christopher GD; Shinkins, Bethany; Leighton, Paul; Taylor, Stuart A; Moran, Gordon W.

Abstract

Background: Ultrasound is an alternative to Magnetic Resonance Enterography, and has the potential to significantly reduce waiting times, expedite clinical decision making and improve patient experience. Point of care ultrasound is an advantage of the US imaging modality, where same day scanning, interpretation and treatment decisions can be made.

Aim: To systematically scope the literature on point of care ultrasound use in small bowel Crohn’s disease, generating a comprehensive list of factors relating to the current understanding of clinical utility of this imaging modality.

Methods: Searches included: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, clinicaltrial.gov,‘TRIP’ and Epistemonikos. Reference lists of included studies were hand searched. Search terms were searched for as both keywords and subject headings (MeSH) as appropriate. Searches were performed with the ‘suggested search terms’ and ‘explode’ selection, and restricted to ‘human’, ‘adult’ and ‘English language’ publications. No date limits were applied to be as inclusive as possible. Two investigators conducted abstract and full text review. No formal quality appraisal process was undertaken; however, quality of sources was considered when reporting findings. A narrative synthesis was conducted.

Results: The review included 42 sources from the UK, Europe, Japan, Canada and the USA. SBUS has been shown to be as accurate in detecting presence of SBCD, is quicker, safer and more acceptable to patients,compared to magnetic resonance enterography. small bowel ultrasound is used widely in central Europe and Canada but has not been embraced in the UK. Further research considering economic evaluation, clinical decision making and exploration of perceived barriers to future implementation of small bowel ultrasounds is required.

Citation

Radford, S. J., Clarke, C. G., Shinkins, B., Leighton, P., Taylor, S. A., & Moran, G. W. (2022). Clinical Utility of small bowel ultrasound assessment of Crohn’s Disease in Adults: A systematic scoping review. Frontline Gastroenterology, 13(4), 280-286. https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2021-101897

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jun 23, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-07
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 23, 2021
• Journal: Frontline Gastroenterology
• Print ISSN: 2041-4137
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-4145
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 280-286
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2021-101897
• Keywords: Crohn’s Disease, Ultrasound, Clinical Utility.
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5655215
• Publisher URL: https://fg.bmj.com/content/13/4/280