Splenic size as a marker for active inflammation in Crohn's disease

The spleen, one of the major organs of the reticuloendothelial system, frequently enlarges in a variety of inflammatory states. We propose measurement of splenic volume as an additional marker for inflammatory bowel disease activity.

This is a retrospective study of patients with Crohn's disease who had computed tomography (CT) exams. Demographic data of the patients was recorded. To determine activity of the disease we analyzed clinical records, lab results and findings on CT scan. Splenic size and volume was calculated on each exam.

The study cohort includes 90 patients with Crohn's disease who underwent 188 [R1.4] CT exams over 6 years. Splenic volume was found to be significantly larger in patients with CD compared to published values for a healthy population. However, the mean splenic volume was 324 cm ± 130.3 did not show significant difference between the group of active 339.2 ± 118.4, and non-active disease 304.2 ± 144.2 (p 0.21 for splenic volume). Interestingly, when splenic volume/BMI index (SV/BMI) was calculated, it was found to be significantly larger in patients with active diseases, 15.26 ± 4.86 compared to non-active phase, 11.69 ± 5.19 (p 0.004).

Splenic size is enlarged in patients with Crohn's disease compared to standard published literature of normal individuals. While there is no statistically significant difference in our study between splenic volume in Crohn's disease patients with active versus nonactive disease, indexed splenic volume, as an additional marker, may add value to the assessment of patient with CD and monitoring of the disease activity.