Utility of gastrointestinal ultrasound in functional gastrointestinal disorders: A narrative review

Table 2 Advantages and disadvantages of gastrointestinal ultrasound

Advantages	Disadvantages
Widely available	Operator dependent
Relatively cheap	Not all areas of bowel equally visualised
Non-invasive	May be technically difficult in obese or previous surgery
Real-time	Expertise not widely available
Does not involve sedation, bowel prep or intravenous contrast agents
Can assess patient in physiological state
Able to assess multiple physiological mechanisms with a single test
Able to visualise upper and lower gastrointestinal tract as well as intra-luminal and extra-luminal organs
Builds rapport with patients as allows interaction between patient and physician
Allows managing clinician to perform test, allowing test to be focused in answering pertinent clinical questions