This is a recent paper by Dr Pollok and his co-authors regarding the use of ultrasound with oral contrast to improve diagnosis of Crohn's disease and reduce exposure to medical radiation.

Clin Radiol. 2011 Dec 31. [Epub ahead of print] 

Diagnostic accuracy of small intestine ultrasonography using an oral contrast agent in Crohn's disease: Comparative study from the UK.

Chatu S, Pilcher J, Saxena SK, Fry DH, Pollok RC.

 AIM: To evaluate the usefulness of small intestine contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (SICUS) using an oral contrast agent in routine clinical practice by assessing the level of agreement with the established techniques, small bowel follow-through (SBFT) and computed tomography (CT), and diagnostic accuracy compared with the final diagnosis in the detection of small bowel Crohn's disease (CD) and luminal complications in a regional centre.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: All symptomatic known or suspected cases of CD who underwent SICUS were retrospectively reviewed. The level of agreement between SICUS and SBFT, CT, histological findings, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level was assessed using kappa (κ) coefficient. Sensitivity was demonstrated using the final diagnosis as the reference standard defined by the outcome of clinical assessment, follow-up, and results of investigations other than SICUS.

RESULTS: One hundred and forty-three patients underwent SICUS of these 79 (55%) were female. Eighty-six (60%) were known to have CD and 57 (40%) had symptoms suggestive of intestinal disease with no previous diagnosis. Forty-six (55%) of the known CD patients had had at least one previous surgical resection. The sensitivity of SICUS in detecting active small bowel CD in known CD and undiagnosed cases was 93%. The kappa coefficient was 0.88 and 0.91 with SBFT and CT, respectively. SICUS detected nine patients who had one or more small bowel strictures and six patients with a fistula all detected by SBFT or CT.

CONCLUSION:SICUS is not only comparable to SBFT and CT but avoids radiation exposure and should be more widely adopted in the UK as a primary diagnostic procedure and to monitor disease complications in patients with CD.  

Another recent paper by Dr Pollok and his co-workers highlighting the increased risk of the bacteria Clostridium difficile in patient with IBD (Colitis and Crohn's disease). This infection is easily transmitted in hospitals and causes diarrhoea and an increased risk of death particularly in vulnerable groups including the elderly.

Increased health burden associated with Clostridium difficile diarrhoea in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.