Purpose: To evaluate MRI for effectiveness in assessment of intra- and extramural changes in the small intestine.
Methods: 40 patients with known or suspected small bowel disease underwent MR imaging immediately after conventional enteroclysis with barium and a mixture of methyl cellulose and gadolinium-DTPA.
Results: In 6 of 24 patients with no pathological findings in conventional enteroclysis, intraabdominal pathology such as thickening of the intestinal wall and an abscess were identified. In the remaining patients, MRI showed good correlation with conventionally obtained data and provided important additional information regarding extraluminal involvement such as enlargement of mesenterial lymph nodes and fistulas as well as abscesses.
Conclusions: MRI, carried out using this technique, provides important additional information regarding intra- and extraluminal changes with good image quality.