10-Year Trend of Abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Compared With Abdominal Computed Tomography Scans in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

• Published in: Inflammatory bowel diseases Vol. 28; no. 9; pp. 1357 - 1362
• Main Authors: Shah, Raj, Elangovan, Abbinaya, Jordan, David W, Katz, Jeffry, Cooper, Gregory S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 01-09-2022
• Subjects: magnetic resonance imaging; radiation effects; diagnostic imaging; inflammatory bowel disease; ionizing radiation; x-ray computed tomography
• ISSN: 1078-0998; 1536-4844
• DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izab284

Abstract
Background
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently undergo multiple computed tomography (CT) examinations. With the widespread availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it is unclear whether the use of CTs in IBD has declined. We aimed to analyze the trends of CT and MRI use in a large cohort of IBD patients in a 10-year period.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed adults ≥18 years of age using a de-identified database, IBM Explorys. Patients with ≥1 CT of the abdomen (± pelvis) or MRI of the abdomen (± pelvis) at least 30 days after the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) were included. We examined the factors associated with patients undergoing multiple CTs (≥5 CTs of the abdomen) and performed a trend analysis from 2010 to 2019.
Results
Among 176 110 CD and 143 460 UC patients, those with ≥1 CT of the abdomen annually increased from 2010 to 2019 with mean annual percentage change of +3.6% for CD and +4.9% for UC. Similarly, annual percentage change for patients with ≥1 MRI (CD: +15.6%; UC: +22.8%) showed a rising trend. There was a 3.8% increase in CD patients receiving ≥5 CTs of the abdomen annually compared with a 2.4% increase among UC patients in the 10-year period. Age ≥50 years, men, African Americans, public insurance payors, body mass index ≥30kg/m2, and smoking history were associated with ≥5 CTs.
Conclusions
There is a considerable increase in the number of CT scans performed in IBD patients. Further studies can explore factors influencing the use of CT and MRI of the abdomen in IBD patients.
Lay Summary
The proportion of inflammatory bowel disease patients with ≥5 computed tomographies of the abdomen annually has increased by 2.4%-3.8% from 2010 to 2019. Age ≥50 years, men, African Americans, public insurance payors, body mass index ≥30kg/m2, and smoking history were associated with ≥5 computed tomographies of the abdomen annually.