الفهرس 
uses of Transabdominal Ultrasound in Gastric DiseasesOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
In patients with acute abdominal pain ultrasound is a first line imaging method providing correct diagnoses in a high percentage of cases. In patients with intestinal complaints or in those without characteristic clinical symptoms, ultrasound can play an important role as the initial imaging tool in the differentiation of inflammatory, ischemic, and tumorous conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. The various features of bowel wall thickening and pericolic alterations in combination with clinical history help to establish the correct diagnosis or to narrow the differential diagnosis. Barium study or endooscopy can be considered standard methods for diagnosing colonic diseases. But because these procedures require bowel preparation and can be painful, patients are often reluctant to undergo them. However, recent advances in medical diagnostic equipment have markedly improved the diagnostic value of transabdominal ultrasound, which has thus become increasingly important in diagnosing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, because it is noninvasive, quick, and free of radiation. Over the last 20 years, a growing interest has been observed in the literature to find a place for the abdominal ultrasound in the protocol of colon disease investigation. The ultrasonographical assessment of the digestive tract requires high performance equipment, experience in the field, and being familiar with the method limits, Recent reports suggest that the ingestion of an oral contrast media e.g: (PEG) solution improves visualisation of small bowel loops at ultrasound giving results comparable with barium entrolysis in several intestinal disorders, including coeliac disease and crohn’s disease. Contrary to the conventional endoscopic examination with its excellent assessment of mucosal changes, imaging by transabdominal or endoscopic ultrasound can primarily demonstrate transmural changes of the bowel wall and of pericolic structures and thus provide additional information to the endoscopic results. Bowel wall thickening results in decreased luminal gas content permitting better US evaluation of the intestine and surrounding structures. Comparing US to CT, US provides more detailed information on the different bowel wall layers due to the higher resolution and the better soft-tissue contrast. Application of oral, rectal or intravenous contrast material is not necessary for patient preparation and the examination can be repeated as often as needed. The major advantage of CT is the complete demonstration of the abdomen and retroperitoneum free of overlying structures. But the radiation dose delivered by repeated examinations, especially in younger patients with chronic disease, cannot be neglected. The liberal use of US in patients with abdominal symptoms may help to avoid unnecessary operations and to direct further diagnostic procedures in those patients in whom definite diagnosis cannot be established. Ultrasound can provide important information to detect gastrointestinal lesions such as, wall thickness, changes in the normal stratified echo pattern, and adjacent lymph nodes. Finding on ultrasound may help in staging and assessing complications of different gastrointestinal diseases.