Imaging of the small bowel: Crohn’s disease in paediatric patients

In more than 20% of all patients, the Crohn’s disease presents before the age of 18years. The diagnosis and management of Crohn’s disease in children has changed dramatically over the last decade, mainly due to increased awareness, availability of newer diagnostic modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and newer, more powerful treatments such as biologics. Imaging of the small bowel is needed for diagnosis, management, follow-up and also evaluation of the disease in terms of location, extent, activity and complications. We review all the methods (barium examinations, ultrasonography, computed tomography, MR, and computed tomography- positron emission tomography) commonly used for imaging the small bowel in paediatric patients with Crohn’s disease analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each modality, with particular emphasis on MR imaging