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[Hydro-MRT with fast sequences in Crohn's disease: a comparison with fractionated gastrointestinal passage]
K Schunk1, A Kern, C P Heussel
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Radiologie, Klinikum der Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. schunk@radiologie.klinik.uni-mainz.de
Purpose:
To compare the value of hydro-MRI with that of barium studies in patients with Crohn's disease.
Materials And Methods:
After an oral bowel opacification using 1000 ml of a 2.5% mannitol solution, axial and coronal breath-hold sequences (T2W HASTE +/- FS, contrast-enhanced T1W FLASH FS) were acquired in 46 patients with Crohn's disease at 1.0 T. The findings of hydro-MRI were compared with those of barium studies.
Results:
In the stomach and the small bowel, hydro-MRI and barium studies demonstrated similar numbers of Crohn's involvements (39 vs. 36); in the colon, hydro-MRI showed clearly more affections (23 vs. 10). Hydro-MRI showed 12.7 cm of inflamed bowel per patient, on average (barium studies: 10.4 cm; p = 0.004). There was a good agreement between the two methods regarding the assessment of the extent of Crohn's disease and the severity of bowel stenoses (r = 0.89 and 0.88, respectively).
Conclusions:
For the assessment of Crohn's disease, hydro-MRI is preferable to the barium study because of the superior imaging quality and the lack of radiation exposure.