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Usefulness of MR imaging for diseases of the small intestine: comparison with CT
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
To evaluate the usefulness of MR imaging for diseases of the small intestine, emphasizing a comparison with CT.
Materials And Methods:
Thirty-four patients who underwent both CT and MR imaging using FLASH 2D and HASTE sequences were analyzed. All patients had various small bowel diseases with variable association of peritoneal lesions. We compared the detectabilities of CT and MR imaging using different MR pulse sequences. The capability for analyzing the characteristics of small intestinal disease was also compared.
Results:
MR imaging was nearly equal to CT for detecting intraluminal or peritoneal masses, lesions in the bowel and mesentery, and small bowel obstruction, but was definitely inferior for detecting omental lesions. The most successful MR imaging sequence was HASTE for demonstrating bowel wall thickening, coronal FLASH 2D for mesenteric lesions, and axial FLASH 2D for omental lesions. MR imaging yielded greater information than CT in six of 12 inflammatory bowel diseases, while it was equal to CT in six of seven neoplasms and inferior in five of seven mesenteric ischemia. In determining the primary causes of 15 intestinal obstructions, MR imaging was correct in 11 (73%) and CT in nine (60%) patients.
Conclusion:
MR imaging can serve as an alternative diagnostic tool for patients with suspected inflammatory bowel disease, small intestinal neoplasm or obstruction.
Insights
Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a viable alternative to computed tomography (CT) for diagnosing small intestine diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and neoplasms. MR imaging offers comparable detection rates for many lesions and superior accuracy in identifying obstruction causes.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Gastroenterology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Small intestine diseases pose diagnostic challenges.
- Computed tomography (CT) is a common imaging modality.
- Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging offers an alternative with potential advantages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the utility of MR imaging for small intestine diseases.
- To compare MR imaging performance against CT.
- To evaluate different MR pulse sequences for specific findings.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-four patients with small bowel diseases underwent both CT and MR imaging.
- MR imaging utilized FLASH 2D and HASTE sequences.
- Detectability and characteristic analysis of lesions were compared between modalities.
Main Results:
- MR imaging was comparable to CT for detecting intraluminal/peritoneal masses and bowel obstruction.
- MR imaging was inferior to CT for omental lesions.
- MR imaging provided superior information in inflammatory bowel disease and comparable or better accuracy for neoplasms and obstruction causes.
Conclusions:
- MR imaging is a valuable alternative diagnostic tool for small intestine conditions.
- It is particularly useful for suspected inflammatory bowel disease, neoplasms, and obstruction.
- Specific MR sequences enhance visualization of different pathologies.
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