MRI is an excellent diagnostic tool used for evaluation of small bowel Crohn’s disease extent and assessment of change of therapy.
MRI of Crohn’s disease has the main advantage over CT in that patients who are typically young, are not exposed to the effects of radiation that occurs with CT, which up until now has been the main imaging modality of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Preparation for an MRI examination is an overnight fast and drinking an oral dye over a period of 2 hours. The scan takes approximately 1 hour, with injections of intravenous buscopan performed (to temporarily halt normal bowel motion in order to obtain the clearest images) as well as intravenous contrast in order to assess for bowel inflammatory changes at the time of initial diagnosis, assessment of any changes to therapy in patients with small bowel disease, as well as any of its complications. Furthermore, MRI is the modality of choice in pregnant women.
After the MRI scan, patients can eat and drink normally and resume normal activity. The report will then be interpreted by our radiologists and then sent to the patient’s referring doctor.
