Significance and Outcome of Magnetic Resonance Enterography Revealing Sacroiliitis in Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study

When axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) occurs in Crohn's disease (CD) is an important clinical and research question that has not been fully answered. Magnetic resonance enterography (MRE), routinely obtained in Crohn's disease (CD) patients, can be utilized to assess sacroiliac joints (SIJ); currently published literature shows that it could be a valuable tool to detect active inflammation of sacroiliitis in CD patients. Only a small fraction of CD patients with MRE evidence of sacroiliitis is referred to rheumatologists for further evaluation. The proposed project aims to further define MRE features of sacroiliitis in CD by recalling subjects who had prior positive findings and assess the natural history and outcome of these cases by standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of sacroiliac joints and SIJ X-ray. 37 CD subjects who were already found to have sacroiliitis in the previous MRE study will be recalled. Subjects will undergo standard MRI of SIJ, plain X-ray of SIJ and the rheumatologist will obtain detailed history and examine patients for evaluation of possible axial SpA. Other details pertaining to CD, CD therapy and activity, will also be obtained to help clarify a correlation between CD and axial SpA. This pilot study will allow better characterization of imaging features of sacroiliitis on MRE, provide useful information on clinical significance of these lesions in CD patients, and potentially establish MRE as a screening tool for early detection of sacroiliitis in CD patients.