AJR:180, January 2003 191 Original Report OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our report is to describe morphologic abnormalities of the small bowel in a population of patients with known celiac disease using MR imaging with polyethylene glycol solution as an oral contrast agent. CONCLUSION. Polyethylene glycol–enhanced MR imaging is a noninvasive (no ioniz- ing radiation is used), feasible, and reproducible imaging technique in both adult and pediatric populations. Findings on polyethylene glycol–enhanced MR imaging, similar to those of con- ventional barium studies, may suggest a diagnosis of celiac disease because the technique can not only reveal intestinal involvement but also show extraintestinal findings. eliac disease is a gluten-sensitive enteropathy of the gastrointesti- nal tract that affects the small in- testine in genetically susceptible individuals. It was previously thought to be a disease of childhood, but now adult presentation is in- creasingly common, and the disease can oc- cur at any age [1]. Although small-intestine biopsy is mandatory to confirm a diagnosis suspected by means of clinical grounds and serologic markers [2], an accurate radiologic examination is important not only for recog- nition of small-bowel abnormalities but also to document normal morphology before bi- opsy. A radiologic examination also helps to exclude complicating lesions, including in- tussusception, jejunal ulceration with stric- ture, lymphoma, or carcinoma, in patients presenting with abdominal pain [2]. Traditionally, a small-bowel follow-through examination has been used to document ra- diologic abnormalities [3]; CT findings of ce- liac disease have also been described [4, 5]. More recently, MR imaging has been advo- cated as a possible diagnostic method for im- aging of the small bowel because of its excellent soft-tissue contrast and multiplanar imaging capabilities. MR evaluation of the small bowel may be performed through dif- ferent technical approaches by distending the small bowel with either positive or negative contrast agents. In our experience, bowel dis- tention can be obtained using a recently re- ported technique [6] based on the ingestion of a polyethylene glycol isosmotic and nonab- sorbable solution as an oral contrast agent. The aim of our study was to assess the fea- sibility of polyethylene glycol–enhanced MR imaging in the evaluation of morphologic ab- normalities of the small bowel in a population of patients with known celiac disease. Subjects and Methods Patient Population Between January and December 2001, we pro- spectively investigated 27 patients: 17 adults (seven women, 10 men; age range, 20–54 years; mean Andrea Laghi 1 Pasquale Paolantonio 1 Carlo Catalano 1 Lucia Dito 2 Iacopo Carbone 1 Maria Barbato 2 Ernesto Tomei 1 Roberto Passariello 1 Received April 3, 2002; accepted after revision June 19, 2002. 1 Department of Radiology, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Policlinico Umberto I, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy. Address correspondence to A. Laghi. 2 Department of Pediatrics, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” 00161 Rome, Italy. AJR 2003;180:191–194 0361–803X/03/1801–191 © American Roentgen Ray Society C MR Imaging of the Small Bowel Using Polyethylene Glycol Solution as an Oral Contrast Agent in Adults and Children with Celiac Disease: Preliminary Observations Downloaded from www.ajronline.org by 52.73.204.196 on 05/13/22 from IP address 52.73.204.196. Copyright ARRS. For personal use only; all rights reserved