The following is a summary of “MRI features indicative of permanent colon damage in ulcerative colitis: an exploratory study,” published in the May 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Rimola et al.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) may leave scarring visible on bowel scans, but this is still under investigation.
Researchers conducted a prospective MRI study to assess bowel damage in patients with ulcerative colitis, investigating links to disease duration and quality of life.
They involved patients with UC in endoscopic remission, underwent MRI without bowel cleansing, and answered quality-of-life questionnaires. The MRI findings were analyzed for patients with UC using normal values and thresholds from controls without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) history (n=40) and patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) without colonic involvement history (n=12). Patients with UC were categorized based on disease duration (<7 years vs. 7‒14 years vs. >14 years).
The results showed that among the 41 subjects with UC [20 women; 38 (92.7%) with Mayo endoscopic subscore 0 and 3 (7.3%) with subscore 1], magnetic resonance comparisons revealed decreased cross-sectional area (P≤0.0034) and perimeter (P≤0.0005), and increased wall thickness (P=0.026) in affected colonic segments compared to controls. Colon damage (defined as wall thickness ≥3 mm) was present in 22 (53.7%) subjects but was not associated with disease duration or quality of life.
Investigators found colon shape abnormalities were common in patients with UC even during remission, but these structural changes weren’t linked to disease duration or quality of life.
Source: academic.oup.com/eccbariatrico-jcc/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae075/7676508