title: MRI of the abdomen with positive oral contrast agents for the diagnosis of inflammatory small bowel disease.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is being used more often in the evaluation of inflammatory bowel diseases. A prerequisite for adequate image quality is the oral application of contrast medium, which can be administered with different modalities. Positive and negative oral contrast media can be used; in terms of diagnostic efficacy, there appears to be no relevant differences between them. Sequences usually are acquired using breath-hold or respiration-triggered protocols. The underlying principle is visualization of circumscribed thickening of the intestinal wall, which shows a pathologic pattern of contrast medium uptake. The available data suggest that MRI is equally as effective as enteroclysis in the primary diagnosis of Crohn's disease and actually more sensitive in the detection of extraintestinal manifestations such as fistulae or abscesses. Supporters of the method predict that MRI will replace enteroclysis in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Ulm, Robert-Koch-Str. 8, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rieber
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nüssle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinshagen
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Brambs
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gabelmann
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000473:pathology*; D018784:Abdominal Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007079:Ileitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007412:Intestinal Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000592:standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media