Evaluation of the small intestine by enteroclysis for Crohn's disease.

We reviewed the records of 100 consecutive patients referred for enteroclysis by gastroenterologists because of suspected Crohn's disease of the small bowel to assess the clinical utility of the information obtained by this method. More than one-third of the patients in the study group had subtle lesions of early Crohn's disease, all patients who required surgery had severe disease by radiologic criteria, and none of the 34 patients clinically suspected of having Crohn's disease of the small bowel in whom the enteroclysis was normal developed Crohn's disease in two or more years of clinical follow-up. Enteroclysis provides gastroenterologists with accurate and detailed structural information relevant to the appropriate management of the disease and in our hands is a reliable test for excluding Crohn's disease of the small bowel.