Pitfalls in the Radiological Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Effective management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) depends upon accurate diagnosis. The classic radiological features ofthis group of diseases have been extensively described. In addition, newermodalities such as ultrasound, computed tomography scanning, magneticresonance imaging and nuclear medicine have been added to the diagnosticarmamentarium. In spite of this the patient with IBD often presents a diagnosticdilemma as these conditions may mimic, and be mimicked by, other diseases. Inparticular, infectious, neoplastic and vascular etiologies should be considered inthe differential diagnosis of IBD and suspected especially if the radiologicalappearances are not typical. Accurate diagnosis requires the selection ofradiological examinations appropriate to the clinical situation which must beperformed and interpreted with an awareness of the many pitfalls in this type ofdiagnosis