Chromium 51-ethylenediaminetetraacetate test: a useful test in the assessment of inflammatory bowel disease.

We evaluated the usefulness of urinary excretion values in assessing mucosal damage in inflammatory bowel disease after administration of chromium 51-labeled EDTA either orally or rectally. In the oral study, 19 controls, 18 patients with Crohn's disease, and 13 patients with ulcerative colitis were given 100 microCi 51Cr-EDTA by mouth. The amount of 51Cr-EDTA in a 24-hour urine collection was expressed as a percentage of the ingested dose. The patients with Crohn's disease of the small bowel excreted 6.3% +/- 4.3%, which was significantly (P less than 0.001) higher than the percentage in patients with ulcerative colitis (1.7% +/- 1.1%) and controls (1.4% +/- 0.6%). In the enema study, 19 patients with ulcerative colitis, two with Crohn's disease, two with radiation colitis, and four controls (spastic colitis, lactose intolerance) were given 100 microCi 51Cr-EDTA by retention enema. The patients with active colonic inflammation excreted 8.4% +/- 3.9% of the dose given by enema, which was significantly (P less than 0.01) higher than in other controls (1.9% +/- 0.91%) or patients with inactive colitis (2.2% +/- 1.9%). The 51Cr-EDTA excretion test is a safe, inexpensive test useful in evaluating patients with inflammatory bowel disease. It can be given orally to screen patients with abdominal complaints who are suspected of having Crohn's disease involving the small intestine, and when given by enema it provides additional objective assessment of idiopathic ulcerative colitis or proctitis.