畠 二郎¹, 末永 健二¹, 吹野 陽一¹, 小根森 元¹, 溝岡 雅文¹, 春間 賢²

Jiro HATA¹, Kenji SUENAGA¹, Youichi FUKINO¹, Gen KONEMORI¹, Masafumi MIZOOKA¹, Ken HARUMA²

¹双三中央病院内科, ²広島大学医学部第一内科

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Futami Centrl Hospital, ²The First Department of internal Medicine, Hiroshima University School of Medicine

キーワード : Ultrasonography, Gastrointestinal tract, Systematic assessment, Screening sonography

Methods of ultrasonographic assessment for the gastrointestinal tract were divided into two types: precise sonography and screening sonography. Precise sonography was done with water instilled into the gastrointestinal lumen, while the screening sonography was done without any preparation. At the same time, detailed techniques of screening sonography in the systematic assessment of the gastrointestinal tract were reviewed. Using these techniques with a full understanding of anatomy, gastrointestinal segments from the lower esophagus to the rectum (except for the small intestine and the sigmoid colon) could be visualized systematically. Although screening sonography showed a high detection rate (mean 92%) in advanced cancers and inflammatory disorders, it was ineffective in detecting subtle mucosal lesions and evaluating normal gastrointestinal wall, so precise sonography should be employed in these cases. In conclusion, ultrasonography can serve as a useful diagnostic method in the detection and the evaluation of gastrointestinal diseases, with an appropriate choice of sonographic approach.