Prognostic role of MRI in determining small bowel Crhon's disease categories: Correlation with response to medical therapy

Crhon's disease is a life-long chronic relapsing condition. Morbidity is high and its incidence and prevalence are increasing worldwide. The purpose of this work is to determine whether magnetic resonance imaging can be used to categorize small bowel Crhon's disease into groups that correlate with response to medical therapy.Twenty-five patients (10 males and 15 females) age range (13–80 years) who had an established diagnosis of Crhon's disease were subjected to magnetic resonance imaging to categorize small bowel Crhon's disease into groups and to correlate these groups with response to medical therapy.Patients without luminal narrowing were more likely to respond to medical therapy (P < 0.0001) than patients with luminal narrowing and hold up (P = 0.007).Patients with mild or marked small bowel intestinal wall enhancement were more likely to respond (P < 0.0001) than those with small bowel abnormalities without enhancement. Our findings would support the use of small bowel MRI as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the management of patients with small bowel Crhon's disease.