Cross-sectional imaging modalities in Crohn's disease

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Current Crohn's disease (CD) assessment tools focus on symptoms or endoscopic lesions, not overall bowel damage.
• There is a need for methods to evaluate structural and functional intestinal damage and its progression in CD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the diagnostic accuracy of abdominal ultrasound (US), computed tomography enterography (CTE), and magnetic resonance imaging enterography (MRE) for assessing CD.
• To evaluate the potential of these imaging modalities in measuring global bowel damage and disease progression.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of recent publications on US, CTE, and MRE for CD assessment.
• Analysis of diagnostic accuracy for CD diagnosis and complications.

Main Results:

• US, CTE, and MRE demonstrate high and comparable accuracy in diagnosing CD and its complications.
• US and MRE offer the advantage of avoiding ionizing radiation.
• Integrating imaging findings with endoscopic data and surgical history (Lémann score) can quantify global bowel damage and track disease progression.

Conclusions:

• Advanced imaging techniques (US, CTE, MRE) are valuable tools for evaluating Crohn's disease.
• A multimodal approach combining imaging, endoscopy, and surgical history provides a comprehensive assessment of CD, enabling better monitoring and treatment evaluation.