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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
Dynamic Adhesion Assay for the Functional Analysis of Anti-adhesion Therapies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Published on: September 20, 2018
Systematic screening for primary sclerosing cholangitis with magnetic resonance cholangiography in inflammatory bowel
Arthur Belle1, Valérie Laurent2, Lieven Pouillon3
1Department of Gastroenterology, Nancy University Hospital, Lorraine University, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France.
Background:
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a major concern in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Aims:
Evaluating the use of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) as a screening tool for PSC in IBD patients.
Methods:
A single-center cohort study investigating systematic MRC to assess PSC in IBD patients with (cohort 1) and without (cohort 2) liver function tests (LFTs) abnormality, combined with a retrospective analysis of MRCs in a control group of non-IBD patients with abnormal LFTs (cohort 3).
Results:
In total, 420 patients (cohort 1: n = 203, cohort 2: n = 30, cohort 3: n = 187) underwent imaging. MRC was classified 'abnormal' in 49/203 (24.1%) patients in cohort 1, in 1/30 (3.3%) patients in cohort 2, and in 66/187 (35.3%) patients in cohort 3 (p < 0.004 for all comparisons). PSC was diagnosed in 20/203 (9.9%) patients in cohort 1, in 1/30 (3.3%) patients in cohort 2, and in 13/187 (7.0%) patients in cohort 3 (p = 0.44). Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was the only independent factor predicting the diagnosis of PSC in IBD (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.5, p = 0.001).
Conclusions:
MRC revealed PSC in one tenth of IBD patients with abnormal LFTs and should be systematically performed in IBD patients with abnormal LFTs, especially if gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase level is elevated.
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