Cure8 research brief
Point-of-care intestinal ultrasound (IUS) showed strong agreement with follow-up tests and often changed management the same day in a New Zealand IBD cohort. Patients and clinicians may be able to use IUS to monitor disease activity with less radiation and faster decisions.
Clinicians who manage IBD (gastroenterologists, IBD nurses, ultrasound-trained providers); adult patients with Crohn’s disease or IBD who need monitoring; centers considering point-of-care imaging implementation.
IUS is a non-radiation imaging tool that in this study often matched results from calprotectin, endoscopy, or other imaging and frequently influenced clinical decisions rapidly. The authors evaluated two calprotectin cutoffs (<50 and <150 µg/g) and found higher concordance using the more liberal <150 µg/g threshold.
How this might affect care: Centers with trained operators can consider IUS to support real-time monitoring and decision-making for IBD patients, potentially reducing need for radiation-based imaging and expediting care. Local access, operator expertise, and integration with other tests (e.g., fecal calprotectin) will influence utility.
Limitations: This is a single-centre, retrospective audit; details of patient selection, operator training, and exact clinical decisions are limited in the abstract. The findings reflect local practice in a tertiary NZ centre and may not generalize to all settings.
This is a retrospective, single-centre audit reported in an abstract-format article; results reflect local practice and operator experience. The stronger correlation used a fecal calprotectin cutoff of <150 µg/g rather than the more conservative <50 µg/g. The study does not provide randomized comparisons or long-term outcomes.
Review the original publication for the complete reporting, methods, and context.
Conflict statement: CJ reports payment or honoraria from Johnson and Johnson (Janssen), Takeda and AbbVie. CJ participates on a data safety monitoring or advisory board for Celltrion.
This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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