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Radiologic Evaluation of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Radiologic imaging is useful at several stages during the evaluation of the pediatric patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In addition to conventional plain radiographs and contrast studies, cross-sectional imaging techniques such as ultrasound (US), computer tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used at the time of initial presentation to help establish the diagnosis and to assess the location, extent, inflammatory activity, and severity of disease. These modalities are also very important for disease monitoring during and after treatment, in selecting appropriate treatment options, planning surgical strategies, and for assessing complications of disease and effects of therapeutic interventions. This chapter will discuss the current role of these various modalities in the clinical management of pediatric patients with Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), and review some of the emerging techniques that may yield more detail and improve on the accuracy of current methods.

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Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Dr. D. Gregory Bates for contributing to the images contained in this chapter.

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Correspondence to Stephen M. Druhan MD .

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Druhan, S.M., Nwomeh, B.C. (2013). Radiologic Evaluation of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In: Mamula, P., Markowitz, J., Baldassano, R. (eds) Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5061-0_19

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