Transcutaneous bowel sonography for inflammatory bowel disease is sensitive and specific when performed in a nonexpert low-volume North American center.

OBJECTIVES: Transcutaneous bowel sonography is a nonionizing imaging modality used in inflammatory bowel disease. Although available in Europe, its uptake in North America has been limited. Since the accuracy of bowel sonography is highly operator dependent, low-volume centers in North America may not achieve the same diagnostic accuracy reported in the European literature. Our objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of bowel sonography in a nonexpert low-volume center. METHODS: All cases of bowel sonography at a single tertiary care center during an 18-month period were reviewed. Bowel sonography was compared with reference standards, including small-bowel follow-through, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, colonoscopy, and surgical findings. RESULTS: A total of 103 cases were included for analysis during the study period. The final diagnoses included Crohn disease (72), ulcerative colitis (8), hemolytic uremic syndrome (1), and normal (22). The sensitivity and specificity of bowel sonography for intestinal wall inflammation were 87.8% and 92.6%, respectively. In the subset of patients who had complications of Crohn disease, the sensitivity and specificity were 50% and 100% for fistulas and 14% and 100% for strictures. One patient had an abscess, which was detected by bowel sonography. Abnormal bowel sonographic findings contributed to the escalation of treatment in 55% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Bowel sonography for inflammatory bowel disease can be performed in low-volume centers and provides diagnostic accuracy for luminal disease comparable with published data, although it is less sensitive for complications of Crohn disease.

Discrepancy between ultrasound and final pathologic measurements in thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: The size of the malignancy in well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC) is an important factor in patient risk stratification. Final pathologic measurements are currently used for treatment decisions. Measurements are made by both ultrasonography and on final pathology and should, theoretically, agree with each other. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the agreement between ultrasound and final pathologic measurements in thyroid nodules and WDTC. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of all total thyroidectomies between 1998 and 2007 was completed by four different surgeons at one centre. Thyroid specimens with a solitary nodule and complete ultrasound and pathologic data were included. A comparison of discrepancy and concordance of the largest dimension of the nodule by ultrasound and pathologic measurement was made. RESULTS: A total of 263 thyroid specimens with a solitary nodule were identified. Of these, 68 were found to harbour WDTC. A median underestimation by pathology of 0.54 cm was present in WDTC, averaging 20% of the nodule size by pathology. This trend was consistent with subgroup analysis for size, pathology, and nodularity. An underestimation by pathology of 0.4 cm was present for papillary carcinoma under 1 cm. Grouping nodules by size, a concordance of 80% was present for nodules under 1 cm. Statistical testing revealed weak correlation and a kappa of approximately 0.3 for agreement. Weighted kappa was approximately 0.5 for agreement. CONCLUSION: The recent advances in ultrasonography and the constraints of pathology preparation allow an argument to be made for investigation of using ultrasound measurements as an adjunct in making treatment decisions.