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Fluorescence-mediated Tomography for the Detection and Quantification of Macrophage-related Murine Intestinal Inflammation
Published on: December 15, 2017
[Inflammatory bowel disease: possibilities and limits in multidetector computed tomography]
Gianluca Gatta1, Fabrizio Cioce, Antonio Fontanarosa
1Seconda Universita di Napoli, Napoli, Italy.
Recenti Progressi in Medicina
|October 26, 2012
Summary
Computed tomography (CT) advances improve small intestine evaluation for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Nuclear imaging is crucial for assessing disease activity, while MRI and ultrasonography offer complementary roles.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology and Radiology
- Medical Imaging Techniques
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Diagnostics
Background:
- Technical advancements in computed tomography (CT), including helical and multidetector CT, have significantly enhanced the evaluation of the small intestine.
- Specialized CT techniques are essential for diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to guide patient-specific therapeutic strategies and monitor disease progression.
- While CT with intraluminal and intravenous contrast provides good visualization of IBD lesions, it has limitations in accurately quantifying disease activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of various imaging modalities in the evaluation of small intestine inflammatory bowel disease.
- To highlight the strengths and limitations of CT, nuclear imaging, MRI, and ultrasonography in diagnosing and monitoring IBD.
- To discuss the optimal imaging strategy for managing patients with IBD.
Main Methods:
- Review of technical advances in computed tomography (CT) for small bowel imaging.
- Discussion of contrast-enhanced CT techniques, including biphasic injection protocols.
- Evaluation of the complementary roles of nuclear imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and endoanal ultrasonography.
Main Results:
- CT, particularly with dedicated techniques, offers improved visualization of small bowel lesions in inflammatory bowel disease.
- Nuclear imaging is superior for accurately estimating the degree of disease activity in IBD.
- Three-dimensional endoanal ultrasonography is the gold standard for evaluating the anal sphincter and recto-anal junction in selected patients.
Conclusions:
- Optimized CT techniques are valuable for evaluating small bowel inflammatory bowel disease, aiding in therapeutic decisions and monitoring.
- Nuclear imaging is indispensable for assessing disease activity, complementing CT findings.
- Magnetic resonance imaging is anticipated to gain importance, and endoanal ultrasonography remains critical for specific anal region assessments.
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