The Journal of Practical Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (18): 3315-3322.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2026.18.009

• Chronic Disease Control • Previous Articles    

Association of early intestinal ultrasound parameters with endoscopic healing at week 54 in pediatric Crohn′s disease patients treated with infliximab

Xing Deng1,2, Maoyi Zuo1,2, Guixian Pan1,2, Qiuping Yang1,2, Yao Cai1,2, Sitao Li1,2()   

  1. 1. Department of Pediatrics,the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University,Guangzhou 510655,Guangdong,China
    2. Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases,Guangzhou 510655,Guangdong,China
  • Received:2026-07-28 Revised:2026-08-21 Accepted:2026-08-27 Online:2026-09-25 Published:2026-10-19
  • Contact: Sitao Li
  • About author:

    Deng Xing designed the study, collected and analyzed the data, and wrote the article. Zuo Maoyi collected the data and prepared the tables. Pan Guixian and Yang Qiuping performed the data cleaning and statistical analysis and prepared the figures. Cai Yao verified the clinical data and performed quality control. Li Sitao designed the study, revised the article, and reviewed the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript as submitted.

Abstract:

Objective This study aimed to investigate the association between intestinal ultrasound (IUS) parameters obtained at week 14 and endoscopic healing status at week 54 in pediatric patients with Crohn's disease (CD) undergoing their first course of infliximab (IFX) treatment. Methods This single-center retrospective study enrolled 31 pediatric patients with CD who initiated their first IFX treatment at the Department of Pediatrics of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between January 2023 and July 2025. IUS examinations were conducted at baseline, week 14, and week 54, and the following parameters were documented: bowel wall thickness (BWT, defined as abnormal thickening when exceeding 3 mm), Limberg grade (classified as abnormal when grade ≥ 2), bowel wall stratification (classified as abnormal when stratification is lost), and perienteric fat (classified as abnormal when thickened). Colonoscopy was performed at week 54. Endoscopic healing was defined as a Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease (SES-CD) ≤ 2, while non-healing was defined as SES-CD > 2. We compared the proportion of abnormal ultrasound parameters at each time point between the endoscopic healing group and the non-healing group, and calculated the diagnostic performance of week 14 BWT and Limberg grade for predicting endoscopic non-healing at week 54. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were applied to analyze the longitudinal trends of ultrasound parameters. Results Endoscopic healing was achieved in 15 out of 31 patients (48.4%) at week 54. At baseline, no statistically significant between-group differences were observed in the proportion of patients with abnormal ultrasound parameters (all P > 0.05). At week 14, the rates of BWT thickening and abnormal Limberg grading in the non-healing group were both 93.8% (15/16), which was significantly higher than the 40.0% (6/15) observed in the healing group (P = 0.002). For predicting endoscopic non-healing at week 54, BWT thickening measured at week 14 yielded a sensitivity of 93.8% (95%CI: 69.8% - 99.8%), a specificity of 60.0% (95%CI: 32.3% - 83.7%), a positive predictive value of 71.4% (95%CI: 47.8% - 88.7%), and a negative predictive value of 90.0% (95%CI: 55.5% - 99.7%). Among patients with both normal BWT and normal Limberg grade at week 14, the endoscopic healing rate at week 54 reached 90.0% (9/10), while this rate was only 28.6% (6/21) in patients with at least one abnormal parameter. GEE analysis revealed significant group effects for BWT thickening and abnormal Limberg grade (both P < 0.05). After adjusting for time-varying ln(CRP + 1), the group effect remained statistically significant (OR = 7.93, 95%CI: 1.56 - 40.27, P = 0.013), while the week 14 × group interaction was not statistically significant (P = 0.370). No significant group effects or interaction terms were identified for loss of bowel wall stratification or perienteric fat thickening (all P > 0.05). Conclusions In pediatric patients with CD receiving IFX therapy, elevated bowel wall thickness and abnormal Limberg classification detected via intestinal ultrasound at week 14 were correlated with endoscopic non-healing at week 54. This association exhibited a high negative predictive value, and remained statistically significant after adjustment for C-reactive protein.

Key words: Crohn's disease, children, intestinal ultrasound, infliximab, endoscopic healing

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