• Ibrahim Hasbey, Furkan Ufuk, Furkan Kaya, and Mustafa Celik.
• Department of Radiology, University of Pamukkale, Kinikli, 20100, Turkey.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2022 Jun 1; 191 (3): 1161-1169.

BackgroundEarly cardiac death is more common in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) than in healthy adults, but the exact cause is unknown.AimsThe aim of this study is to investigate the cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with CD and compare the MRI findings with healthy controls (HCs). This study also aimed to demonstrate the possible cardiac involvement in patients with CD using MRI.MethodsIn this prospective study, participants with CD (n = 20) and HC (n = 20) underwent cardiac MRI. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hematocrit levels were investigated before MRI in both groups. Two observers evaluated the ventricular functional and morphological parameters in consensus. Myocardial T1/T2-relaxation times were calculated by two observers independently using two different software, and hematocrit-corrected left ventricle extracellular volume (LV-ECV) was calculated. Observer-2 also performed histogram analysis for T1/T2-mapping images.ResultsPatients with CD had a significantly higher LV-ECV, mildly decreased right ventricle ejection fraction, and prolonged T2-relaxation time than HC. Moreover, histogram analysis showed that the maximum and mean T2-relaxation times were higher in patients with CD. There was an excellent agreement between observers for the assessment of mean native and post-contrast T1-relaxation time (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.991 and ICC of 0.941, respectively) and mean T2-relaxation time measurements (ICC of 0.983). Moreover, mean T2-relaxation time was found to be significantly correlated with ESR.ConclusionsThis study suggests visually undetectable myocardial involvement due to chronic systemic inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease. Cardiac MRI can help assess and monitor cardiac involvement in patients with CD.© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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