Intestinal Ultrasound for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

When your child with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has a flare, you want answers quickly to help ease their discomfort and pain. We’re pleased to be one of a handful of certified pediatric centers in the U.S. and the first pediatric IBD center in Northern California to offer intestinal ultrasound in an IBD clinic setup, an exciting new noninvasive alternative for painless monitoring of your child’s inflammatory bowel disease.

Intestinal ultrasound is a leading-edge, transformative tool that we incorporate easily into your child’s clinic visit, when needed. We use it in combination with other tests and images to get a full picture of your child’s digestive health in real time.

Why choose us for intestinal ultrasound for monitoring IBD

• Pediatric IBD experts certified in using intestinal ultrasound. Our care team has received extra training to become certified in using intestinal ultrasound (IUS). While IUS is becoming more common internationally, it is a fairly unique offering in the United States, especially in pediatric hospitals. Because we are one of a handful of certified pediatric training centers in the U.S., our doctors train other pediatric gastroenterologists in the nation, so you know your child is being cared for by some of the very best.
• Only real-time monitoring test for IBD. Unlike the case with alternatives like stool tests, MRIs, or endoscopies and colonoscopies, there’s no waiting for results. At your child’s appointment, your doctor shares the results with you during the test, providing for richer, in-the-moment discussion on treatment options.
• No unpleasant preparation, discomfort, anesthesia, or risk. Other IBD diagnostic tests require blood draws or preparation like fasting. With IUS, there’s none.
• Clear view of your child’s intestines. Intestinal ultrasound allows us to get high-quality images of your child’s intestines. It empowers us to check if treatments are working and decide next steps to help your child heal or maintain healing.
• A test we can easily repeat. If we spot inflammation or a complication, we can repeat the test easily over time to monitor your child’s healing.

How we use intestinal ultrasound for IBD care

• Assess whether your child’s treatment is working. With intestinal ultrasound, you can learn immediately if your child’s IBD therapy is keeping their disease under control.
• Check for inflammation and flares. Using this dynamic technology, you will see the inflammation live on the screen. We can evaluate multiple markers of inflammation, describe them to you in real time, and evaluate the location and severity of your child’s disease.
• Verify the need to change medications. Inflammation seen on the ultrasound may mean that your child’s current medications are not working. Ultrasound may guide us to adjust the medication dose or change to a new medication.
• Rule out complications. Sometimes flares and pain can mean disease complications, such as strictures (narrowing of intestines), abscesses, and fistulas (abnormal connections between organs). We can catch complications and treat them early.
• Provide peace of mind after surgery. If your child requires abdominal surgery, intestinal ultrasound can let us know if they are healing well after surgery and verify that the disease has not recurred.
• Verify deep remission. Intestinal ultrasound is an easy way for us to assess your child’s remission, when indicated, to give your family reassurance that treatment is working and the disease has not returned.

What to expect with intestinal ultrasound for IBD care

• We perform it in the Center for IBD and Celiac Disease clinic in Palo Alto or in the hospital.
• It provides immediate results during the test.
• Fasting or other preparation is NOT required.
• Your child lies down on an exam table and has warm gel applied on their abdomen, and our doctor gently passes a wand (transducer) over the abdomen.
• The exam is painless.
• The ultrasound uses sound waves, and no radiation is used.
• The test is performed by one of our IBD specialists, who will discuss the results with you during the visit.

If your child has been referred for an intestinal ultrasound, we will relay results to your child’s gastroenterologist.