Significance and Outcome of Magnetic Resonance Enterography Revealing Sacroiliitis in Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study

Significance and Outcome of Magnetic Resonance Enterography Revealing Sacroiliitis in Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study

Significance and Outcome of Magnetic Resonance Enterography Revealing Sacroiliitis in Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study

This study aims to further define and characterize imaging findings of possible sacroiliitis in Crohn's Disease patients by recalling subjects who had findings of possible sacroiliitis on prior MRE and assess the natural history and outcome of these cases by using standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and x-ray of the sacroiliac joints.

When axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) occurs in Crohn's disease (CD) is an important clinical and research question that has not been fully answered. Magnetic resonance enterography (MRE), routinely obtained in Crohn's disease (CD) patients, can be utilized to assess sacroiliac joints (SIJ); currently published literature shows that it could be a valuable tool to detect active inflammation of sacroiliitis in CD patients. Only a small fraction of CD patients with MRE evidence of sacroiliitis is referred to rheumatologists for further evaluation. The proposed project aims to further define MRE features of sacroiliitis in CD by recalling subjects who had prior positive findings and assess the natural history and outcome of these cases by standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of sacroiliac joints and SIJ X-ray. 37 CD subjects who were already found to have sacroiliitis in the previous MRE study will be recalled. Subjects will undergo standard MRI of SIJ, plain X-ray of SIJ and the rheumatologist will obtain detailed history and examine patients for evaluation of possible axial SpA. Other details pertaining to CD, CD therapy and activity, will also be obtained to help clarify a correlation between CD and axial SpA. This pilot study will allow better characterization of imaging features of sacroiliitis on MRE, provide useful information on clinical significance of these lesions in CD patients, and potentially establish MRE as a screening tool for early detection of sacroiliitis in CD patients.

These subjects will then undergo T1 and STIR sequence MRI of SI joints (pelvis MRI) as well as SIJ plain X-ray for assessment of radiographic sacroiliitis.

Subjects will undergo T1 and STIR sequence MRI of sacroiliac joints (SIJ ) (pelvis MRI) as well as SIJ plain X-ray for assessment of radiographic sacroiliitis. The study will utilize 3 Tesla with phased array coil to maximize signal to noise ratio for image quality. This is a single procedure, which takes about 60 minutes. 1 radiologists, blinded to all clinical information, will evaluate for presence of acute and structural lesions. Images will be scored for presence or absence of acute and/or structural lesions in a global manner.

ASDAS- Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score will assesses patient-perceived symptoms and current disease activity through serum markers. The higher the score the higher the disease activity.

BASDAI- Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index assesses Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease activity and current symptoms. The BASDAI sum score is calculated by the sum of questions 1-4 plus mean of questions 5 and 6, the total then divided by 5. The sum score ranges from 0 to 10, higher values indicate more active disease.

BASFI- Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index assesses functional limitation in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis. The patient rates his/her ability to perform tasks (BASFI) by marking a vertical line on a 100 mm horizontal line. It consists of ten tasks lines to assess the degree of difficulty of performing each task. The total BASFI score is calculated by adding all ten scores and dividing by 10.

HBI- Harvey-Bradshaw Index measures clinical activity of Crohn's Disease. The categorical HBI score was also used as an independent variable in all analyses. Specifically, HBI < 5 was defined as clinical remission, HBI between 5 and 7 as mild disease, HBI between 8 and 16 as moderate disease, and HBI > 16 as severe disease.

CDAI- Crohn's Disease Activity Index determines current severity of Crohn's Disease. CDAI scores range from 0 to 600. A score of less than 150 corresponds to relative disease quiescence (remission); 150 to 219, mildly active disease; 220 to 450, moderately active disease; and greater than 450, severe disease.

Inclusion Criteria: Evidence of sacroiliitis on earlier standard of care MRE between 2014 and 2018. Confirmed diagnosis of Crohn's Disease Known HLA-B27 status at time of enrollment and most recent clinical ESR and CRP results from chart (from day of visit or within past 4 weeks of study visit) Adults >18 years of age Exclusion Criteria: History of other inflammatory arthritis (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, gout). Contraindication to MRI. History of malignancy <5 years in remission, (except for non-melanomatous skin cancer). Inability to comply with study protocol. Critically ill patients. Pregnant patients. Non-English speaking patients (as the questionnaires used in this study are not validated in other languages)

Data collected from this study include anthropomorphic and blood draw data that will be uploaded to the participants' EHR and questionnaire data that will only be used for study-related purposes