Until relatively recently, ultrasound of the stomach and intestines was not performed due to its low information content. But science does not stand still, and thanks to new high-resolution equipment, this issue has been resolved. Now the hollow digestive organs can be studied without resorting to invasive and radiation-intensive techniques, which makes it possible to diagnose pregnant women, infants, and weakened patients.
Ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract) makes it possible to obtain information about the structural and functional state of the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine. At the same time, during the procedure the patient does not experience any painful sensations, the preparatory measures are not particularly complicated and diagnosis is not an expensive type of examination.
When is it appointed?
Diseases localized in the organs of the digestive system have a fairly extensive list of symptoms and symptom complexes (syndromes). To avoid the development of complications or the transition of the disease from acute to chronic, the doctor will write a referral for an ultrasound of the esophagus and stomach, as well as the intestines if:
- pain and stiffness in the gastrointestinal tract;
- feelings of fullness and heaviness in the esophagus and stomach;
- bad breath, regurgitation, frequent vomiting;
- periodic constipation, increased gas formation;
- traumatic injuries of the gastrointestinal tract;
- diarrhea of unknown origin.
Reference! In addition to pathological manifestations, ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract is performed during a preventive screening examination, biopsy (taking a tissue sample for analysis) and surgical operations. By being able to thoroughly examine pathological areas during the procedure, it becomes much easier for the surgeon to excise pathological areas such as tumors and polyps.
Indications for ultrasound examination in gastrology
In newborns, an ultrasound examination of the stomach is performed if there is frequent vomiting after feeding, excessive regurgitation, or no weight gain. The procedure is also prescribed for infants in order to exclude congenital defects of the organ or foreign objects entering its cavity.
For children older than 1 month and adult patients, ultrasound is prescribed in case of suspicion:
- reflux disease (GERD, DGR);
- gastritis;
- ulcers;
- varicose veins of the gastric veins;
- inflammation of the duodenum;
- stenosis of a separate area of the organ;
- colitis;
- lymphomas;
- intestinal obstruction;
- cancer development;
- formation of neoplasms;
- the presence of polyps, cysts, and other disorders.
Regardless of age, an ultrasound examination of the intestines and/or stomach is performed to determine the causes of chronic or prolonged constipation. Using transabdominal ultrasound, the effectiveness of treatment of the identified pathology is also assessed.
What is studied using ultrasound of the digestive organs?
Modern ultrasound machines enable the diagnostician to evaluate the structural characteristics of the hollow organs of the digestive system - the esophagus, stomach, and also check the intestines. During the ultrasound examination, the following is determined:
- state of the curvature of the stomach (large and small);
- location relative to other organs;
- anatomical features;
- Wall thickness.
During the examination, the diagnostician examines the changes present in the form of deformations of the walls of the esophagus, stomach, colon and small intestine, as well as their number. In addition, it is possible to examine the organs of the retroperitoneal space, for example, the kidneys, since they are close enough and the doctor will see obvious violations of their structure during the procedure.
Digestive organs accessible to ultrasound diagnostics
What pathologies does ultrasound diagnose?
Ultrasound of the stomach and intestines provides the diagnostician with detailed information about the condition of the organs, allowing him to track all possible changes indicating the presence of gastrointestinal diseases. After the procedure, it is not difficult for the attending physician to make the correct diagnosis, because an ultrasound of the stomach shows clear signs of pathologies such as:
Ultrasound of the hepatobiliary system
- gastroesophageal reflux (reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus);
- duodenogastric reflux (ingestion of duodenal contents into the stomach);
- violation of the motor-evacuation function of the esophagus and stomach;
- inflammation of the esophagus - esophagitis;
- tumors in the lower esophagus;
- inflammation of the gastric mucosa - gastritis;
- erosive lesions of the mucous membrane, peptic ulcer, polyps;
- neoplasms of the stomach lining;
- prolapse of the stomach - gastroptosis;
- the presence of foreign bodies in the esophagus and stomach;
- hyperplasia (thickening) of the walls of the digestive organs;
- dilation of large blood vessels in the gastrointestinal tract.
In addition to all of the above, ultrasound examination makes it possible to diagnose pyloric stenosis in infants - a decrease in the patency of the pyloric section of the stomach. Ultrasound diagnostics, in the presence of abdominal pain of unknown etiology, often becomes decisive in identifying acute appendicitis and determining the boundaries of malignant neoplasms. Studying the sections of the small and large intestine using ultrasonic vibrations is no less informative technique, and is prescribed as often as the previous one.
Doctors often resort to it, as ultrasound of the intestine shows a fairly wide range of pathologies, which includes:
- dolichosigma – increase in the size of the sigmoid colon;
- colitis - an inflammatory process of the intestinal mucosa;
- ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, formation of fecal stones;
- violation of intestinal motility and evacuation function;
- neoplasms of benign and malignant nature;
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), decreased tone;
- fluid in the intestines and establishing the causes of its accumulation.
The procedure determines a congenital anomaly of the sigmoid colon - Hirschsprung's disease, which is manifested by a violation of the innervation of its area, leading to chronic constipation. During the examination, the doctor is able to detect thickening of the intestinal walls, which is evidence of the development of oncological processes. In addition, the method allows you to study the functional state of blood vessels and track the spread of cancer tumors beyond the boundaries of the organ.
One of the intestinal diseases characterized by damage to the tissue structure is diverticulosis.
Ultrasound is also successfully used to assess the effectiveness of prescribed therapy, allowing you to keep the situation under control and, if necessary, take appropriate measures to prevent relapses.
Abdominal ultrasound
Ultrasound (ultrasound examination) or echoscopy is a modern method of diagnosing human health. This is a relatively inexpensive, quick and absolutely painless method of identifying problems of internal organs.
Ultrasound allows you to very accurately see internal organs and their structure, and identify any diseases, pathologies and neoplasms, including cancer tumors, in the early stages. But like any non-invasive method, it is very sensitive and requires special preparation before implementation, which directly affects the quality of the results.
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs for gastritis
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs (pancreas, gall bladder, liver, spleen) - sometimes the listed symptoms can signal inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, and not just the stomach.
The stomach cannot be partially examined using ultrasound
One of the most prompt measures in diagnosing diseases of the abdominal and pelvic organs and identifying the cause of abdominal pain is ultrasound diagnostics.
Is the stomach visible on ultrasound?
Using ultrasound, you can identify pathologies of the liver, gall bladder, spleen, kidneys, uterus, and ovaries. Many people wonder whether the stomach and intestines are visible on an ultrasound. The stomach cannot be examined using ultrasound; the intestines cannot be examined partially. If the equipment has good resolution, for example, volumetric formations in this area are visible.
How is an abdominal ultrasound performed?
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs is performed by an ultrasound specialist. To perform the procedure, the patient lies down on a couch. To facilitate the passage of ultrasonic waves, a special gel is applied to the surface of the skin. The doctor passes a small hand-held sensor over the area of the body being examined, scanning the internal organs and blood vessels - their image is viewed on the monitor.
An abdominal ultrasound will show the condition of all the main organs of the gastrointestinal tract and a number of others located in this area
During the procedure, the patient must remain motionless. The doctor may also ask you to hold your breath briefly for a more effective examination. Thus, the liver and spleen move slightly downwards while holding the breath, which allows them to be seen better.
An abdominal ultrasound will show the condition of all the main organs of the gastrointestinal tract and a number of others located in this area. Usually, an examination of a specific organ is prescribed, but a general examination with ultrasound will help identify the organ - the possible source of the problem.
Abdominal ultrasound results may be distorted by:
- Gases in the stomach or intestines.
- Feces and excess fluid in the body.
- The patient is overweight.
All this interferes with the free passage of echo signals through the internal organs and the establishment of an accurate diagnosis. Doctors warn that in case of obesity of 3-4 degrees, the interpretation of an ultrasound examination is uninformative; in this case, it is better to choose an alternative diagnostic method, for example MRI.
Sources:
- https://www.kp.ru/guide/obsledovanie-zheludka.html
- https://medongroup-spb.ru/company/articles/vsye-o-gastrite/
- https://positivemed.ru/uzi-brjushnoj-polosti/
- https://blog.pokupon.ua/uzi-brjushnoj-polosti-pravilnaja-podgotovka-k-procedure/
Preparation
Despite the simplicity of the procedure, preparation for it is an integral part. Moreover, preparatory measures must be carried out as carefully as possible so that the diagnostician can obtain a complete picture of the condition of the organs being examined. Otherwise, the examination will have to be repeated, which will require additional time and money.
3–4 days before the test
In order to properly prepare for ultrasound diagnostics of the gastrointestinal tract, you should adhere to a special diet that helps reduce flatulence, diet, and you will need to cleanse the intestines of feces. This is done to improve the quality of visualization of organs, since if there are gas bubbles or accumulations of feces in the loops of the large intestine, the diagnostician may mistake them for a pathology or because of them they may not be able to see structural defects.
Therefore, 3-4 days before the planned ultrasound, it is necessary to exclude from the usual diet foods that increase the process of gas formation in the intestines. These include baked goods, sweets, raw vegetables and fruits, legumes, fatty meats, fish, cheeses, smoked foods, spices, spicy, salty, pickled and fatty foods. You should limit or exclude first courses based on fatty rich broths, carbonated water, drinks, strong tea, coffee and alcohol.
Instead, your menu should be composed of cereal porridges - buckwheat, rice, oatmeal, lean meats, fish, poultry and weak broths made from them. You can eat hard cheese, and 1 glass of milk or kefir per day, as well as one hard-boiled egg. During the preparatory period, you should take at least 1.5 liters of liquid - still water, weak tea, coffee and compotes.
Such a diet will help get rid of flatulence, and will allow the doctor to carefully examine the gastrointestinal tract.
An important component of preparation is a diet that involves frequent meals, at least 4-5 times a day, but in small portions. This approach will ensure complete digestion of food and its timely evacuation from the digestive system, as a result of which fermentation and putrefaction processes leading to the formation of gases will not develop. You should also take enzyme preparations at this time - Mezim, Festal, Creon, Yuenzym, which help digest food.
If you have constipation, you need to establish regular bowel movements by taking laxatives so that at the time of the examination the intestines are cleared of feces and nothing interferes with the examination. These can be either tablet preparations - Senade, Senadexin, Bisacodyl, or solutions - Picolax, Guttalax, or, for example, buckthorn decoction. You should definitely have a bowel movement the evening before the diagnosis.
On the day of the procedure
Since the study is carried out on an empty stomach, the last meal - dinner should be no later than 18.00-19.00 - if the procedure is scheduled for the morning, and breakfast no later than 7.00-8.00, if it is scheduled for the afternoon. It is necessary to refrain from drinking liquids 3–4 hours before the start of diagnostic measures. For the same period of time before the ultrasound, you should not smoke, suck on candy, or chew gum. Smoking increases the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract muscles, and chewing gum and hard candies promote the swallowing of air.
For children, there are slightly more loyal rules for abstaining from food and drink - drinking is prohibited 1 hour before the procedure for young patients of all ages, and when eating food the following must be observed:
- for children under 14 years old – at least 6–8 hours,
- child under 3 years old – at least 4 hours,
- For infants, the last feeding is no later than 3 hours.
Attention! The subject must notify the doctor if he is taking antispasmodic drugs, as they can distort the overall picture of the condition of the organs. In addition, if within 3 days the patient underwent an X-ray with barium, you should also be warned about this, because there may be residual contrast in the gastrointestinal tract, which will also affect the results of the examination.
What is better to do - ultrasound of the stomach or gastroscopy?
The great advantage of ultrasound is that this diagnostic procedure has no contraindications. But at the same time, ultrasound shows only an external picture of the condition of the organs - this is not enough to determine with a high degree of probability, for example, gastritis or a cancerous tumor at the initial stage. With such diseases, visible external changes occur much later.
In this regard, gastroscopy gives a more complete picture of the condition of the digestive organs. By examining in detail the condition of the internal tissues of the stomach and esophagus, the doctor can notice the slightest pathological changes and inform the patient about this. By taking action in advance, you can avoid serious consequences and cure the disease at an early stage - quickly and without serious costs.
Thus, practice shows that in many situations gastroscopy is more effective than ultrasound. But diagnosis using a gastroscope has a number of contraindications. Therefore, ultrasound to this day remains a popular diagnostic method, which is an alternative to endoscopy or complements it.
Author : Stashevskaya Evgenia Valerievna, especially for the site Zhkt.ru
How is diagnosis carried out?
In the process of ultrasound examination of the hollow organs of the digestive system, it is possible to study not only their structural, but also their functional state. Therefore, ultrasound of the stomach, esophagus and upper parts of the small intestine is often done in two stages. The first is a standard transabdominal technique, in which the diagnostician simply moves the sensor along the surface of the abdominal wall, studying the image displayed on the monitor screen.
The second stage is a method for studying the functioning of organs, called a water-siphon test. This technique is simple, as an ultrasound of the esophagus and stomach is performed after the patient takes a small amount of still water through a straw, and small children are allowed to drink through a bottle with a nipple. The doctor studies the speed of fluid movement through the gastrointestinal tract and can draw a conclusion about the motor-evacuation capacity of the esophagus, stomach and small intestine.
During such a diagnosis, it is possible to detect obstruction of the digestive system, as well as identify the causes of the present symptoms, even in particularly controversial cases. The water-siphon test is considered to be a simple and non-unpleasant analogue of gastroscopy, which is much easier for patients to tolerate both physically and emotionally. To get an idea of the procedure, you can read reviews from patients who have undergone gastrointestinal ultrasound.
Indications in the procedure
Ultrasound of the stomach and esophagus is prescribed as the primary method of examination if the patient complains of symptoms that can be correlated with the following diseases:
- gastritis;
- ulcerative lesion;
- cancerous tumor;
- intestinal obstruction;
- other anomalies in the functioning of the organ.
Ultrasound in this case shows external pathologies of the stomach, if any.
Using this procedure you can evaluate:
- stomach shape;
- the thickness of its walls;
- the number of layers in the walls of the stomach;
- condition of the outer serous membrane;
- condition of the muscle membrane;
- condition of the submucosa;
- thickness of the mucous membrane, etc.
All these characteristics make it possible to judge how well the stomach copes with its functions and whether there are any anomalies in the functioning of the organ.
Reviews
Mikhail, 47 years old: I had pain in my stomach and pit of the stomach for a long time - I still didn’t dare to go to the hospital, because I remember the FGS I had in childhood. But then I still had to go. I fasted for several days and went for an ultrasound of my stomach. I can say that “heaven and earth” compared to gastroscopy, and the results were enough for the doctor to prescribe treatment, which, I feel, helps.
Marina, 26 years old: My daughter, 1.4 years old, has constant constipation, at first they thought it would go away - it’s just that her bowel function hasn’t improved yet. Then we decided to go to the hospital and ordered an ultrasound. I learned how to do an ultrasound of the intestines and how to prepare for it - we did everything and went for the procedure. I thought it would be much worse, but the baby lay quietly, did not act up, and then we were told that dolichosigma was discovered in her.
Kirill, 24 years old: I have been suffering from gastritis since school; I periodically undergo ultrasound examinations of the stomach and drink water during the procedure. I think that this method is just a godsend, otherwise you would have to “swallow the probe” every time, which brings very unpleasant sensations, from which you then recover for another day. And then he came, they did everything in 20 minutes, and there was no negativity.
How to prepare for diagnosis
Preparation for the stomach ultrasound procedure begins with following a diet. It is recommended to change your diet 2 weeks before the test. It is prohibited to consume foods that cause excessive gas formation:
- cabbage;
- kefir;
- Rye bread;
A few weeks before the procedure, cabbage and other foods that increase gas formation should be excluded from the diet.
- peas;
- carbonated drinks.
The patient should not eat fresh baked goods. The bread is pre-dried. Alcohol-containing drinks are excluded.
The last meal before the procedure should be taken in the evening no later than 20:00. Then it is advisable to drink a laxative medicine. On the day of the procedure, the patient is strictly prohibited from smoking.
The patient should find out in advance how to prepare for an ultrasound of the stomach. Only if all recommendations are followed will the result be most accurate.
You should not eat breakfast before the ultrasound.
Children are allowed a break between meals and the procedure to range from 3 to 6 hours, depending on age. Adults are strictly prohibited from eating in the morning on the day of the ultrasound. You will be able to have breakfast only after diagnosis. Diet adherence is mandatory. If you are predisposed to constant flatulence, consuming foods that increase gas formation will prevent you from obtaining an objective and accurate result.
Thus, an abdominal ultrasound is always performed on an empty stomach. You are first allowed to drink only purified non-carbonated water.
