MR Enterography as initial radiological investigation in patients with not known small bowel IBD

MRI should be used to reduce radiation in situations where multiple imaging is required •Inflammatory disease of the small bowel, namely Crohn’s disease, is the clearest example of this •For diagnosis of small bowel pathology, there is no consensus regarding initial imaging •NICE guidance recommends US or MRI in conjunction with endoscopy if inflammatory markers are raised1 •Other literature has indicated that US, CT and MRI are comparable in imaging small bowel pathology •MRE is frequently used as a first line investigation in suspected cases of small bowel inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in our NHS Trust The aim is to evaluate the relationship between the clinical history given in cases where the patient was not known to have any small bowel pathology and the diagnostic outcome of the MRE scan to ensure that resources were being used in the most appropriate, useful and cost-effective way possible.