Assessment of small bowel Crohn disease: Noninvasive peroral CT enterography compared with other imaging methods and endoscopy-feasibility study

A feasibility study was conducted to evaluate two biphasic computed tomographic (CT) enterography protocols, a noninvasive CT technique with water administered perorally and CT enteroclysis with methylcellulose administered through a nasojejunal tube, in 23 patients known or suspected to have Crohn disease. Results were compared with the results of fluoroscopic small bowel examination and terminal ileoscopy for the detection of active Crohn disease in the terminal ileum. Luminal distention did not differ significantly between the two CT protocols. Arterial phase imaging was noncontributory in 22 of 23 cases. The noninvasive peroral water CT enterography protocol had similar accuracy (12 of 15 cases, 80%) for enabling the detection of active Crohn disease in comparison with CT enteroclysis with nasojejunal tube (seven of eight, 88%) and fluoroscopic small bowel examination (17 of 23, 74%). No fistulas were missed with use of either CT technique. The authors conclude that noninvasive peroral portal venous phase CT enterography with use of water is an accurate and feasible technique for detecting active small bowel inflammation in patients with Crohn disease.