Crohn's Disease Only Visible on Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy: A New Entity

The utility of capsule endoscopy in the phenotype of Crohn's disease. Data from England 2016-2021

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

Isolated small bowel Crohn's disease (SBCD) is reported to have a worse prognosis compared to other CD phenotypes. The aim of this study was to understand the correlation between Isolated SBCD and ileocolonic disease with blood and faecal biomarkers and also to identify differences in outcome and management between the two phenotypes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with ileocolonic or isolated small bowel Crohn's Disease (SBCD) were identified from an existing capsule endoscopy (CE) database. Harvey Bradshaw Index (HBI), biomarkers: c-reactive protein (CRP) and faecal calprotectin (FC), Lewis score and findings on CE and subsequent follow up data were collected. SPSS was used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

In total 248 patients were included in the study. Patients were split into two groups- Isolated SBCD with 178 patient (median age 44 years (IQR 31-56); 41.5 % male) and Ileocolonic Crohn's with 70 patients (median age 31 years (IQR 22.7-49); 31.5 % male). A new diagnosis of SBCD was made in 38.7 % (n = 96), whilst 60.0 % (n = 144) had established CD. Patients with ileocolonic disease had a higher HBI in comparison to isolated SBCD [HBI = 7 (IQR 5-10) vs HBI = 6(IQR 4-9); P = 0.04 ]. There was no significant difference in the FC levels between isolated SBCD and ileocolonic disease [136ug/g (IQR 53.8-363.3) vs 171ug/g (IQR 68.5-485.5); p = 0.98]. In isolated SBCD group, 30.3 % (n = 54) CE showed proximal disease, 96 % (n = 171) showed distal disease and 26.4 % (n = 47) showed extensive disease. SBCE was superior to MRI at diagnosing proximal SBCD (P < 0.01). On multivariate logistic regression, we did not identify any predictors of disease severity defined as Lewis score > 790. Following SBCE, 68.5 % (n = 170) of the total patients had a management change. This included commencement or dose escalation of corticosteroids in 123 (49.5 %) patients, azathioprine in 80 (33.3 %) patients, methotrexate in 22 (9.1 %) patients and biological therapy in 110 (44.3 %) patients. HBI predicted a change in management (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

CE is an important modality for the diagnosis of active SBCD. It also helps guide treatment in patients identified with active disease.

Small-bowel capsule endoscopy and device-assisted enteroscopy for diagnosis and treatment of small-bowel disorders: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) Guideline - Update 2022

MR1: ESGE recommends small-bowel capsule endoscopy as the first-line examination, before consideration of other endoscopic and radiological diagnostic tests for suspected small-bowel bleeding, given the excellent safety profile of capsule endoscopy, its patient tolerability, and its potential to visualize the entire small-bowel mucosa.Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence. MR2: ESGE recommends small-bowel capsule endoscopy in patients with overt suspected small-bowel bleeding as soon as possible after the bleeding episode, ideally within 48 hours, to maximize the diagnostic and subsequent therapeutic yield.Strong recommendation, high quality evidence. MR3: ESGE does not recommend routine second-look endoscopy prior to small-bowel capsule endoscopy in patients with suspected small-bowel bleeding or iron-deficiency anemia.Strong recommendation, low quality evidence. MR4: ESGE recommends conservative management in those patients with suspected small-bowel bleeding and high quality negative small-bowel capsule endoscopy.Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence. MR5: ESGE recommends device-assisted enteroscopy to confirm and possibly treat lesions identified by small-bowel capsule endoscopy.Strong recommendation, high quality evidence. MR6: ESGE recommends the performance of small-bowel capsule endoscopy as a first-line examination in patients with iron-deficiency anemia when small bowel evaluation is indicated.Strong recommendation, high quality evidence. MR7: ESGE recommends small-bowel capsule endoscopy in patients with suspected Crohn's disease and negative ileocolonoscopy findings as the initial diagnostic modality for investigating the small bowel, in the absence of obstructive symptoms or known bowel stenosis.Strong recommendation, high quality evidence. MR8: ESGE recommends, in patients with unremarkable or nondiagnostic findings from dedicated small-bowel cross-sectional imaging, small-bowel capsule endoscopy as a subsequent investigation if deemed likely to influence patient management.Strong recommendation, low quality evidence. MR9: ESGE recommends, in patients with established Crohn's disease, the use of a patency capsule before small-bowel capsule endoscopy to decrease the capsule retention rate.Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence. MR10: ESGE recommends device-assisted enteroscopy (DAE) as an alternative to surgery for foreign bodies retained in the small bowel requiring retrieval in patients without acute intestinal obstruction.Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence. MR11: ESGE recommends DAE-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (DAE-ERCP) as a first-line endoscopic approach to treat pancreaticobiliary diseases in patients with surgically altered anatomy (except for Billroth II patients).Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence.

Safety and efficacy of capsule endoscopy for patients with newly diagnosed Crohn's disease: A multicenter retrospective study

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease that develops at a young age and frequently leads to intestinal resection. Capsule endoscopy (CE) can directly and non-invasively inspect the entire small bowel mucosa. We suspected that CE could be a good diagnostic tool for detecting CD in young patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of CE in patients with newly diagnosed CD and to evaluate the CE findings, especially in the upper small bowel of young patients. We retrospectively investigated 32 patients with newly diagnosed CD from 5 institutions. Patient characteristics, clinical course, and characteristics of CE findings were analyzed. The total small intestine observation rate was 93%, and the retention rate was 3% (1/32). No abnormality was identified by ileocolonoscopy in 46% (15/32), and transition of small bowel lesions (TSL) was found in 35% (12/34) of the patients. The frequency of longitudinal ulcers and cobblestones in the upper small intestine was significantly higher in younger patients (≤20 years). Moreover, positive findings in the upper small intestine were predominantly observed in younger patients (≤20 years). CE for patients with newly diagnosed CD was safe and useful, especially for the detection of upper small bowel lesions in young patients.