Imaging of the small bowel in Crohn's disease: A review of old and new techniques

Table 6 Pros and cons of the different imaging techniques in the study of the small bowel in Crohn's disease

	PROs	CONs
Bowel ultrasound	-Non invasive, safe and well accepted -Widely available -Information about gut wall and extra-intestinal structures	-Operator dependent -False negative in case of superficial and rare lesions
Conventional radiology	-Exact anatomic location and extent of the lesions	-Limited information about trans-mural and peri-intestinal abnormalities -Radiation exposure
Entero MR	-Information about gut and extra-intestinal structures -Identification of active inflammation -Multiplanar sequences	-costly -Impossible to enter the magnet -IV infusion
Entero CT	-Information about gut and extra-intestinal structures -Mulitplanar sequences	-Radiation exposure -IV infusion -False negative in case of superficial and rare lesions
VCE	-Allows the complete evaluation of the small bowel -High diagnostic yield -Useful in indeterminate colitis -Well tolerated	-Unfeasible if significant stricture present -Not well established specificity of VCE findings
Double-balloon	-Allows the complete evaluation of the small bowel -Therapy and biopsies are feasible	-Invasive procedure requiring sedation and fluoroscopy -No data