CT vs MRE for abscess in ileocolic CD

What is known

• A preoperative cross-sectional imaging series used both contrast-enhanced MR enterography and contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT to work up surgically complex ileocolic crohn's, defined to include phlegmon and fistulizing disease. ¹
• Contrast-enhanced CT detected and serially monitored a crohn's-associated intra-abdominal (iliopsoas) abscess in a case report. ²
• In a cohort assessing imaging accuracy for disease length, MR versus CT was not a significant factor and abscess formation was recorded as an intraoperative finding. ³

What is unknown / caveats

• No retrieved study directly compares CT vs MRE sensitivity/specificity for abscess detection
• The MRE protocol described ¹ is contrast-enhanced, not the non-contrast MRE the question specifies
• Abscess-focused evidence here is a case report and incidental cohort mentions, not diagnostic-accuracy data
• The excerpts establish that both modalities are used but do not quantify which better detects abscess.

References

1. Dane B, Remzi FH, Grieco M, Ginocchio L, Erkan A, Esen E, Dogru V, Huang C. Preoperative cross-sectional imaging findings in patients with surgically complex ileocolic Crohn's disease. Abdom Radiol (NY). 2023;48(2):486-493. PMID: 36329208.

2. Yamashita S, Nakamura M, Akutagawa T, Nakashima O, Tago M, Esaki M, Yamashita SI. Polybacterial Iliopsoas Muscle Abscess as an Indication for Early Diagnosis of Crohn's Disease. Am J Case Rep. 2023;24:e941399. PMID: 38032860.

3. Brouquet A, Rangheard AS, Ifergan J, Lazure T, Carbonnel F, Penna C, Benoist S. The accuracy of preoperative imaging in measuring the length of the ileocolic segment affected by Crohn's disease: a prospective cohort study. Colorectal Dis. 2017;19(5):437-445. PMID: 27607894.

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Draft, generated by the IBDology RAG and not yet clinician-reviewed. Answers are grounded in the retrieved literature listed above; a high faithfulness score means the answer matches its sources, not that the sources are correct.