Role of imaging in the evaluation of inflammatory bowel disease: How much is too much?

Table 1 Summary of risks and benefits of imaging studies for evaluation of inflammatory bowel disease

Imaging study	Utility	Approximate radiation	Length of study	Pediatric sedation	Relative cost	Contrast	Sensitivity diagnosing IBD	Specificity diagnosing IBD
SBFT	Baseline diagnosis	Pediatric 2 mSv	Total: 1-3 h	None	$	Oral < 1 L	45%-76%[8-10]	67%-100%[8-10]
		Adult 5 mSv	Scan time: 1 h
CTE	Baseline diagnosis, follow-up, contraindication to MRE	Pediatric 3-16 mSv	Total: 1 h	None	$$	Oral 1-2 L, intravenous	84%[23]	95%[23]
		Adult 5-20 mSv	Scan time: Several minutes
MRE	Baseline diagnosis, follow-up, complications of IBD	None	Total: 1-2 h	Often depending on hospital protocol	$$$	Oral 1-2 L, intravenous	93%[23]	93%[23]
			Scan time 1-2 h
Ultrasound	Screening if low suspicion for IBD, monitoring of disease activity	None	Total: 30-60 min	None	$	Oral < 1 L	90%[23]	96%[23]
			Scan time: 30 min

SBFT: Small bowel follow through; CTE: Computed tomography enterography; MRE: Magnetic resonance enterography; mSv: Millisieverts; IBD:Inflammatory bowel disease.