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World J Radiol. Feb 28, 2017; 9(2): 46-54
Published online Feb 28, 2017. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v9.i2.46
Magnetic resonance enterography in Crohn’s disease: How we do it and common imaging findings
Annalisa Mantarro, Paola Scalise, Elisa Guidi, Emanuele Neri
Annalisa Mantarro, Paola Scalise, Elisa Guidi, Emanuele Neri, Department of Translational Research and New Techno-logies in Medicine and Surgery, Diagnostic Radiology, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Author contributions: Mantarro A wrote the paper; Scalise P performed research; Guidi E analysed data; Neri E designed research.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest and no financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Emanuele Neri, MD, Professor of Radiology at the University of Pisa, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Diagnostic Radiology, Radiodiagnostica 3 Ospedale S, Chiara - Edificio 18, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy. emanuele.neri@med.unipi.it
Telephone: +39-50-997313 Fax: +39-50-9911683
Received: April 30, 2016
Peer-review started: May 4, 2016
First decision: July 20, 2016
Revised: October 22, 2016
Accepted: December 13, 2016
Article in press: December 14, 2016
Published online: February 28, 2017
Processing time: 303 Days and 12.8 Hours
Abstract

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, with unpredictable clinical course by phases of relapses alternating with other of quiescence. The etiology is multifactorial and is still not completely known; globally the westernization of lifestyle is causing an increasing incidence of CD, with peak age of 20-30 years. The diagnostic workup begins with the evaluation of the clinical history, physical examination and laboratory tests. However, the clinical assessment is subjected interobserver variability and, occasionally, the symptoms of acute and chronic inflammation may be indistinguishable. In this regards, the role of magnetic resonance (MR) enterography is crucial to determine the extension, the disease activity and the presence of any complications without ionizing radiations, making this method very suitable for young population affected by CD. The purpose of this review article is to illustrate the MR enterography technique and the most relevant imaging findings of CD, allowing the detection of small bowel involvement and the assessment of disease activity.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; Disease activity; Magnetic resonance sequences; Small bowel; Magnetic resonance enterography

Core tip: Magnetic resonance (MR) enterography represents a non-invasive technique for Crohn’s disease (CD) diagnosis, allowing morphological and functional evaluation of the small bowel loops. For all these reasons, MR enterography is assuming a prominent role as first-choice radiological examination in patients affected by CD. In this setting, the purpose of this review article is to illustrate the MR enterography technique and the most relevant imaging findings of CD, in order to discriminate among the various subtypes of CD (active, fistulizing/perforating or chronic subtype) and to assess disease activity.