title: Clinical utility of positron emission tomography/computed tomography in inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The clinical utility of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in comparison to standard workup in patients with known or suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical data were collected on seven patients with known or suspected IBD undergoing PET/CT. Standard workup included history, physical exam, laboratory tests, colonoscopy and/or cross-sectional imaging. We divided the intestine into five regions [small bowel and four colon (ascending, transverse, descending and rectosigmoid)] and graded relative standard uptake values 0, 1, 2 or 3 by comparison to the liver, using a region-of-interest analysis (0 = no activity, 1 = liver, 2 and 3 = significant inflammation).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients 1 and 2, PET/CT demonstrated more activity than we thought clinically present. The other patients avoided unnecessary escalation or initiation of IBD therapy based on PET/CT results. Compared with standard workup, all seven patients had superior results when therapeutic decisions were based on PET/CT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found PET/CT to be very useful in diagnosis and management in patients with known or suspected IBD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Lapp
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Bret J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Spier
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Scott B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Perlman
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Christine J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Jaskowiak
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA. mxr@medicine.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reichelderfer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome