Abstract: This study investigated the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD). 123 patients with Crohn's disease diagnosed by colonoscopy were selected as the research objects, including 89 patients in active stage and 34 patients in remission stage. All patients underwent ultrasound and CEUS examination. The intestinal wall thickness, Limberg classification of intestinal wall blood flow and CEUS quantitative analysis parameters[rise time (RT), peak intensity (PI), time to peak (TTP)] were compared between the two groups. The intestinal wall thickness of 89 patients in active stage was significantly higher than that of patients in remission stage (P<0.05). The Limberg grade distribution of intestinal wall blood flow in active patients was higher than that in remission patients (P<0.05). The PI value of active stage patients was significantly higher than that of remission stage patients (P<0.05), and RT value and TTP value were significantly lower than those of remission stage patients (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in intestinal wall thickness between patients with severe, moderate and mild activity (P>0.05). The Limberg grade distribution of intestinal wall blood flow in patients with severe activity was higher than that in patients with mild and moderate activity (P<0.05). The PI value of patients with severe activity was significantly higher than that of patients with mild and moderate activity (P<0.05), and the RT and TTP value were significantly lower than those of patients with mild and moderate activity (P<0.05). The AUC values of PI, RT and TTP in the diagnosis of Crohn's disease in remission and active phase were 0.852, 0.711 and 0.746, respectively. CEUS examination has high clinical application value in the judgment of disease condition and disease activity degree of Crohn's disease patients.

Key words: contrast-enhanced ultrasound, Crohn's disease, Limberg classification, quantitative analysis