Lewis Score on Capsule Endoscopy as a Predictor of the Risk for Crohn's Disease-Related Emergency Hospitalization and Clinical Relapse in Patients with Small Bowel Crohn's Disease

Monitoring of leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein and assessment by small bowel capsule endoscopy are prognostic for Crohn's disease patients

Background and Aim

Endoscopy is important to determine the effectiveness of treatment for Crohn's disease (CD), but searching the entire small intestine is difficult. Thus, we investigated the usefulness of leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein (LRG), a new biomarker for predicting mucosal activity, in evaluating the activity of CD small intestinal lesions. This will further determine whether the results of small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) affect the prognosis of patients with CD.

Methods

A total of 114 patients with CD who underwent SBCE were included. We analyzed the correlation between LRG and Capsule Endoscopy Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CECDAI). The cutoff value of LRG to achieve mucosal healing was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Then, we compared the presence or absence of intervention and the relapse rate of patients who could not achieve mucosal healing.

Results

The CECDAI correlated with LRG. The calculated LRG value for achieving mucosal healing was ≤11.9. Ninety-one patients were in clinical remission at the time of SBCE. During the follow-up period, 17 patients relapsed. As a result of SBCE, when no treatment intervention was performed in the case of CECDAI ≥3.5, the relapse rate was significantly higher than when CECDAI <3.5 or intervention was performed in the case of CECDAI ≥3.5.

Conclusions

The results reveal that LRG correlates with the activity of the entire small intestine and that SBCE assessment and therapeutic intervention can influence patient prognosis.

Assessment of a new score for capsule endoscopy in pediatric Crohn's disease (CE-CD)

Background and study aims  Two scores have been implemented to standardize capsule endoscopic (CE) findings in patients with Crohn's disease (CD): Lewis score (LS) and Capsule Endoscopy Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CECDAI). Both have limitations and are not well validated in the pediatric population. The aim of our study was to assess a new score (capsule endoscopy - Crohn's disease index, CE-CD) in pediatric patients with CD and to compare it to preexisting scores. Patients and methods  This was a double-center, retrospective study involving pediatric subjects with CD who underwent CE. Correlation analyses between CE-CD, endoscopy scores and noninvasive markers of disease activities were performed. The ability of different CE scores to predict clinical and endoscopic outcomes was evaluated with regression and survival analyses. Results  A total of 312 subjects were analyzed. The CE-CD score showed a moderate (Pearson's r = 0.581, P  < 0.001) and strong (r = 0.909, P  < 0.001) association with LS and CECDAI, respectively. CE-CD was a statistically significant predictor of hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR]1.061), treatment escalation (HR 1.062), steroid therapy (HR 1.082), clinical (HR 1.064) and endoscopic (HR 1.060) relapse over the twenty-four months ( P  < 0.001). Subjects with mucosal inflammation according to CE-CD (CE-CD ≥ 9) had worse outcomes compared to patients without inflammation (CE-CD < 9) (Log rang test < 0.001). Conclusions  The CE-CD score is a simple, reliable, reproducible, and predictive score for evaluation of small bowel inflammation in pediatric patients with CD. Prospective validation is needed to confirm the applicability of this new index in clinical practice.

Lewis score on capsule endoscopy can predict the prognosis in patients with small bowel lesions of Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Endoscopic evaluation of disease activity, including mucosal healing, is poorly established in Crohn's disease. We previously reported that patients with a Lewis score (LS) on capsule endoscopy < 270 had a lower risk of exacerbation without additional treatment. This study investigated prognostic predictors in patients undergoing capsule endoscopy and determined the optimal LS cut-off value.

METHODS

In a retrospective single-center study, 102 patients with Crohn's disease who underwent capsule endoscopy were reviewed. We reviewed the clinical course and the patients' characteristics, Crohn's Disease Activity Index, laboratory findings, LS, and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) for factors potentially associated with Crohn's disease-related emergency hospitalization. Subsequently, we prospectively enrolled 66 patients with Crohn's disease and analyzed clinical outcomes according to these factors.

RESULTS

In the retrospective study, LS ≥ 270 and PNI < 45 were identified as independent predictors of Crohn's disease-related emergency hospitalization with hazard ratios of 9.48 and 3.01, respectively. Even in patients with LS ≥ 270, cumulative hospitalization rates decreased after intervention based on capsule endoscopy findings. The prospective study confirmed that patients with LS ≥ 270 or PNI < 45 had a significantly higher risk of Crohn's disease-related emergency hospitalization and that additional treatment reduced the risk of relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

LS and PNI are the best available prognostic predictors in patients with Crohn's disease without gastrointestinal stenosis and can guide decisions on treatment escalation. Patients with LS ≥ 270 and PNI < 45 were at increased risk for exacerbation, and additional treatments should be considered for this group.

Economic analysis of the adoption of capsule endoscopy within the British NHS

Objective

Identification of a cost-effective treatment strategy is an unmet need in Crohn’s disease (CD). Here we consider the patient outcomes and cost impact of pan-intestinal video capsule endoscopy (PVCE) in the English National Health Service (NHS).

Design

An analysis of a protocolized CD care pathway, informed by guidelines and expert consensus, was performed in Microsoft Excel. Population, efficacy and safety data of treatments and monitoring modalities were identified using a structured PubMed review with English data prioritized. Costs were taken from the NHS and Payer Provided Services (PSS) 2016–17 tariffs for England and otherwise literature. Analysis was via a discrete-individual simulation with discounting at 3.5% per annum.

Setting

NHS provider and PSS perspective

Participants

4000 simulated CD patients

Interventions

PVCE versus colonoscopy ± magnetic resonance enterography (MRE)

Main outcome measures

Costs in 2017 GBP and quality-adjusted life years (QALY)

Results

The mean, total 20-year cost per patient was £42 266 with colonoscopy ± MRE and £38 043 with PVCE. PVCE incurred higher costs during the first 2 years due to higher treatment uptake. From year 3 onwards, costs were reduced due to fewer surgeries. Patients accrued 10.67 QALY with colonoscopy ± MRE and 10.96 with PVCE. PVCE dominated (less cost and higher QALY) colonoscopy ± MRE and was likely (>74%) to be considered cost-effective by the NHS. Results were similar if a lifetime time horizon was used.

Conclusions

PVCE is likely to be a cost-effective alternative to colonoscopy ± MRE for CD surveillance. Switching to PVCE resulted in lower treatment costs and gave patients better quality of life.

Evaluating the clinical and economic consequences of using video capsule endoscopy to monitor Crohn's disease

Background

To assess the cost and patient impact of using small bowel and colon video capsule endoscopy (SBC) for scheduled monitoring of Crohn’s disease (CD).

Methods

An individual-patient, decision-analytic model of the CD care pathway was developed given current practice and expert input. A literature review informed clinical endpoints with data from peer-reviewed literature. Four thousand simulated CD patients were extrapolated from summary patient data from the Project Sonar Database. Two monitoring scenarios were assessed in this population. The first scenario represented common monitoring practice (CMP) for CD (ileocolonoscopy plus imaging), while in the second scenario patients were converted to disease monitoring using SBC. The cost-effectiveness of using SBC was assessed over 20 years. The cost of switching 50% of patients to SBC was assessed over 5 years for a health-plan including 12,000 patients with CD. Uncertainty of results was assessed using probabilistic sensitivity analysis.

Results

All patient groups showed increased quality of life with SBC versus CMP, with the highest gain in active symptomatic patients. Over 20 years, SBC reduced costs ($313,367 versus $320,015), increased life expectancy (18.15 versus 17.9 years) and increased quality of life (8.7 versus 8.0 QALY), making it a cost-effective option. SBC was cost-effective in 71% of individuals and 78% of populations including 50 patients. A payer implementing SBC in 50% of patients over 5 years could expect a decreased cost of monitoring (–$469 mean per patient) and surgery (–$698), but increased costs for active treatments (+$717). The discounted mean annual cost of care using CMP was $22,681 per patient over 5 years. The annual savings were $1135 per SBC-patient. The total savings for the payer over 5 years were $36.5 million.

Conclusion

SBC is likely to be a cost-effective and cost-saving strategy for monitoring CD in the US.