What Is the Diagnostic Performance of Ultrasonography to Diagnose Small Bowel Obstruction?
Long, Brit et al.
Annals of Emergency Medicine , Volume 72 , Issue 3 , 312 – 313
【TAKE-HOME MESSAGE】
For trained operators, ultrasonography possesses sensitivity and specificity
comparable to that of abdominal computed tomography (CT) for the diagnosis of
small bowel obstruction
The Accuracy of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Detecting Small Bowel Obstruction in Emergency Department
A. Pourmand, U. Dimbil, A. Drake, and H. Shokoohi
Emerg Med Int. 2018 Apr 4;2018:3684081
Sensitivity: 94–100%
Specificity: 81–100%
Specific sonographic findings that increase the likelihood of SBO include:
–dilatation of small bowel loops > 25 mm,
–altered intestinal peristalsis,
–increased thickness of the bowel wall, and
–intraperitoneal fluid accumulation
【Limitation】
Sonography is more accurate in diagnosing complete SBO and is limited in the diagnosis of partial SBO .
With ultrasound it is difficult to find the transition point between dilated and compressed bowel loops and to properly distinguish between potential causes of obstruction
