The use of magnetic resonance imaging for Crohn's disease sufferers has now been quite well established, both in research and literature. A specific, non-invasive imaging technique, called MR Enterography, yields high contrast images of intestinal inflammation, abscesses and fistulas in the small bowel. It utilizes dynamic image acquisition following the administration of intravenous contrast to provide information about
the time course of bowel wall enhancement. This serial imaging of bowel wall enhancement over time may help to distinguish active disease from inactive disease. Such dynamic imaging is not routinely performed with CT (computed tomography) because of the radiation exposure associated with serial image acquisition. As a result, MR enterography has been shown to be superior to CT for differentiating between acute and chronic inflammation in areas of the diseased bowel, which is critical for deciding on medical vs. surgical treatment. Recent studies comparing CT enterography and MR enterography have demonstrated that both techniques are excellent at detecting features associated with Crohn’s disease and that the differences in sensitivity and specificity between the two techniques were not statistically significant.
MR enterography is an excellent and appropriate imaging option for patients with Crohn’s disease who are concerned about
exposure to potentially harmful radiation. It is a particularly useful test for those patients who are younger, require frequent follow-up for symptom exacerbation and to monitor disease progression.
You find find the following link to be helpful as it goes into further detail than I have above and includes includes a video of a local (Vancouver) radiologist giving his thoughts on the utility of MRE for this patient population.
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Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 7/20/2011 5:29:26 PM (GMT-6)