Objective:

To provide practice recommendations for the diagnosis and assessment of treatment response in luminal Crohn’s disease using cross-sectional imaging, highlighting its critical role in optimizing patient management.

Key Findings:

• MRE and IUS are preferred for initial diagnosis and ongoing assessment of Crohn’s disease due to their high sensitivity and specificity, and standardized terminology for imaging findings is recommended to improve communication and consistency in reporting.

Interpretation:

Cross-sectional imaging plays a crucial role in the treat-to-target strategy for Crohn’s disease, providing objective measures of disease activity that are essential for optimizing patient management and guiding treatment decisions.

Limitations:

• Endoscopy remains the reference standard for assessing disease activity, but its limitations, such as invasiveness and patient discomfort, are acknowledged.
• Current classification systems for disease phenotypes may need refinement to better reflect the dynamic nature of Crohn’s disease and its overlapping subtypes.

Conclusion:

Timely diagnosis and accurate phenotyping of Crohn’s disease are essential for effective management, with cross-sectional imaging being pivotal in achieving these goals and facilitating ongoing treatment adjustments.