Comparison of the Diagnostic Value of Transabdominal Intestinal Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Enterography for Intestinal Stenosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Objective To compare the diagnostic value of transabdominal intestinal ultrasound (IUS) and magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) for intestinal stenosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the imaging features of 51 IBD patients who underwent both IUS and MRE at Beijing Friendship Hospital,Capital Medical University,between January 2021 and February 2025.With endoscopy as the gold standard,the diagnostic performance of the two methods was compared. Results The sensitivity (84.2% <i>vs.</i> 52.6%,<i>P</i>=0.008) and accuracy (66.7% <i>vs.</i> 45.1%,<i>P</i>=0.035) of IUS for stenosis were higher than those of MRE.In the localization of stenosis,IUS demonstrated higher sensitivity than MRE for detecting stenosis in the terminal ileum (78.6% <i>vs.</i> 35.7%,<i>P</i>=0.070) and colorectum (86.7% <i>vs.</i> 53.3%,<i>P</i>=0.060).Furthermore,IUS showed higher diagnostic accuracy than MRE for terminal ileum stenosis (70.6% <i>vs.</i> 29.4%,<i>P</i>=0.039).The intestinal wall thickness[(8.2±2.7) mm <i>vs.</i> (10.3±3.8) mm;<i>t</i>=3.20,<i>P</i>=0.002)] and stenosis inner diameter[(3.0±1.6) mm <i>vs.</i> (4.3±1.8) mm;<i>t</i>=2.15,<i>P</i>=0.035] measured by IUS were lower than those measured by MRE,with a moderate level of consistency (ICC:0.19-0.53).In addition,IUS demonstrated a higher detection rate for mesenteric fat hypertrophy (70.6% <i>vs.</i> 27.5%,Kappa=0.27,<i>P</i>=0.005),whereas MRE was more sensitive in detecting lymphadenopathy (90.2% <i>vs.</i> 56.9%,Kappa=0.16,<i>P</i>=0.080). Conclusions IUS is superior to MRE in the diagnosis and localization sensitivity for intestinal stenosis in IBD.However,the two methods showcase poor consistency in detecting and quantitating some inflammatory signs.IUS can be used as a first-line screening method for diagnosing intestinal stenosis in IBD patients,while its clinical application should be combined with specific needs to optimize diagnosis.