IntroductionCrohn's disease [CD] is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] that can result in progressive bowel damage and disability 1 . CD can affect individuals of any age, from children to the elderly, 2,3 and may cause significant morbidity and impact on quality of life. Up to one-third of patients present with complicated behaviour [strictures, fistula, or abscesses] at diagnosis 4 . Most patients over time will develop a complication, with roughly 50% of patients requiring surgery within 10 years of diagnosis [5][6][7] . As the precise aetiology of CD remains unknown, a curative therapy is not yet available 8 . Several agents are available for the medical treatment of CD. Medical agents include mesalazine [5-ASA], locally active steroids [such as budesonide], systemic steroids, thiopurines such as azathioprine [AZA] and mercaptopurine [MP], methotrexate [MTX], and biological therapies [such as anti-TNF, anti-integrins, and anti-IL12/23].The European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] produces and regularly updates several guidelines aimed at providing evidence-based guidance on critical aspects of IBD care to all healthcare professionals who manage patients with IBD. To provide high-quality evidence-based recommendations on medical and surgical treatment in CD, ECCO decided to develop these guidelines by adopting the GRADE [Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation] approach 9 . GRADE is a systematic process for developing guidelines that addresses how to frame the healthcare questions, summarize the evidence, formulate the recommendations, and grade their strength and the quality of the associated evidence. GRADE increases transparency at all levels of this process and makes explicit the three considerations that lead to a particular recommendation: the quality of the evidence, the balance of benefits and harms, and the patients' values and preferences. Therefore, ECCO reviewed the available high-quality evidence on the medical management of CD and developed evidence-based recommendations on the medical treatment of adult patients with CD. These guidelines do not cover specific situations, such as post-operative management of adult patients with CD, which was already covered in the last ECCO Guidelines on Crohn's disease 10 . MethodsBased on the GRADE workflow, the Guidelines Committee of ECCO [GuiCom] selected a panel of 48 experts supported by a team of methodologists and librarians. Selection was based on IBD expertise, scientific background, and knowledge of the GRADE methodology. All panellists received adequate training in GRADE before starting the process.Additionally, four patients with CD representing the European Federation of Crohn's and Colitis Associations [EFCCA] were invited to participate in all face-to-face meetings and to provide their experiences and state their preferences.Three domains for medical treatment of CD were identified: 1) induction therapy 2) maintenance therapy 3) therapy of fistulizing perianal disease.All panellists were assigned to...
This article is the second in a series of two publications relating to the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] evidence-based consensus on the management of Crohn’s disease. The first article covers medical management; the present article addresses surgical management, including preoperative aspects and drug management before surgery. It also provides technical advice for a variety of common clinical situations. Both articles together represent the evidence-based recommendations of the ECCO for Crohn’s disease and an update of previous guidelines.
NOTE. Active disease was determined by a partial Mayo score greater than 2, Harvey-bradshaw index greater than 4 and/or a Mayo score greater than 1, Simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease greater than 2. CD, Crohn's disease; F, female; M, male; UC, ulcerative colitis.
BackgroundColonoscopy [CS] is the standard for assessing disease activity in ulcerative colitis [UC], although invasive and poorly tolerated. Bowel ultrasound [BUS] may be a valid alternative in UC patients; however, the comparative accuracy between BUS and CS is unknown.MethodsConsecutive patients with UC were prospectively assessed by CS and BUS. Colonic wall thickening [CWT >3 mm], colonic wall flow at power Doppler [CWF], colonic wall pattern [CWP], and presence of lymph nodes evaluated at BUS were compared with CS. The endoscopic activity was assessed according to the Mayo endoscopic sub-score [0–3]. All BUS investigations were performed by two independent gastroenterologists and the kappa statistic for agreement was calculated. Ultrasonography-based criteria (Humanitas Ultrasound Criteria [HUC]) were developed.ResultsA total of 53 UC patients [56% with left-sided colitis, 19% with pancolitis] were prospectively enrolled. Of these, 22 patients had mucosal healing [Mayo endoscopic sub-score 0–1] and 31 patients were in endoscopic activity. CWT, CWF, hypoechogenic CWP and the presence of lymph nodes significantly correlated with endoscopic activity [p < 0.05]. CWT [p = 0.01] and CWF [p = 0.09] were independent predictors for endoscopic activity. The HUC developed are: [i] the presence of a CWF and CWT > 3 mm; or [ii] the absence of a CWF and CWT > 4.43 mm. They showed high accuracy for the detection of disease activity [sensitivity 0.71, specificity 1.00]. The interobserver agreement for BUS was excellent [kappa 0.86].ConclusionsBUS is a non-invasive, easy-to-use tool to manage UC patients in clinical practice. HUC were very accurate in assessing disease activity in UC patients.
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