Submucosal bowel wall layer thickness predicts endoscopic activity in Crohn’s disease

Purpose: Gastrointestinal ultrasound is a well-established method for diagnosing and monitoring Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study was to investigate whether wall layer data measured on gastrointestinal ultrasound could predict endoscopic activity in CD. Materials and Methods: 64 CD patients underwent a gastrointestinal ultrasound examination and endoscopy ± 2 weeks apart in a single-center prospective study. Bowel wall thickness and the thickness of individual wall layers corresponding to the mucosa, submucosa and the proper muscle wall were measured and compared with the simple endoscopic score of Crohn's disease (SES-CD) in the most affected bowel segment where SES-CD >2 was defined as activity. Results: There was increased absolute thickness of the mucosa (1.8 versus 1.1mm, p =0.001), submucosa (2.8 versus 1.2mm, p