Is there a role of magnetic resonance imaging in deciding to stop anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment in ileal Crohn's disease?

Abstract Purpose This study was performed to assess the ability of magnetic resonance enterography to predict the evolution of patients in whom anti-tumor necrosis factor-α therapy was suspended. Methods A prospective study of patients with ileal Crohn's disease was performed. Results Twenty-nine patients were included. Patients who later relapsed showed higher magnetic resonance scores than those who did not relapse (4.2 vs. 2.5, respectively; p < 0.02). The area under the receiving-operating characteristics curve was 0.755 when discriminating patients who relapsed. Conclusions Magnetic resonance enterography should be taken into account when deciding the withdrawal of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α in patients with Crohn's disease.