**4.5 Ultrasound elastography to detect fibrotic bowel strictures in Crohn's disease**

Another study conducted by Chen [23] looked at the distinction of intestinal fibrosis from inflammation in Crohn's disease (CD)-associated strictures, as presented by Vestito [24] in a systematic review with meta-analysis to assess whether ultrasound elastography can have a diagnostic role in detecting fibrotic bowel strictures in patients with Crohn's disease. The study included consecutive CD patients with ileal/ileocolonic strictures who had shear wave elastography (SWE) within 1 week of surgical resection.

The grade and severity of both fibrosis and inflammation in the resected bowel specimen were compared to the SWE of the stenotic bowel wall.

One of the key points of this study was that SWE is a viable and effective method for detecting intestinal fibrosis in CD patients.

Combining SWE and bowel vascularization on traditional ultrasound after validation could be used to direct a management strategy in CD patients by identifying the form of intestinal stricture.
