BACKGROUND & AIMS: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to assess the outcome of infliximab (IFX) therapy in patients with perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease (pfCD). However, few long-term data are available about its efficacy. METHODS: We assessed 59 patients with pfCD by MRI and clinical evaluation at baseline. Treated patients then received paired clinical and MRI examinations for a median time period of 36 (11-53.3) weeks. Short-, mid-, and long-term effects of therapy, as well as the ability of MRI to predict treatment outcome and need for surgery, were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline MRI, the short-term follow-up MRI (n = 29) revealed a reduced number of fistula tracks in 13.8% and in the inflammatory activity in 55.2% of patients, respectively; mid-term MRI (n = 25) in 56% and in 52%, respectively; and long-term MRI (n = 13) in 15.4% and in 31%, respectively. Improvement of pfCD based on MRI results coincided with clinical improvement in 54.7% of the patients. Short-term and mid-term (but not long-term) MRI showed a significant decrease in the activity score. Therapy outcome was worse among patients with persisting fistulas (P = .01), collections (P = .009), and rectal wall involvement (P = .01) in the final MRI. Patients with single-branched fistulas (P < .0001) and collections (P = .006) in their baseline MRI were more likely to undergo surgery. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is a useful technique for evaluation of pfCD during the first year of follow-up. In the long-term, the MRI improvement coincides with clinical and endoscopic response to IFX in 50% of the patients.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to assess the outcome of infliximab (IFX) therapy in patients with perianal fistulizing Crohn's disease (pfCD). However, few long-term data are available about its efficacy. METHODS: We assessed 59 patients with pfCD by MRI and clinical evaluation at baseline. Treated patients then received paired clinical and MRI examinations for a median time period of 36 (11-53.3) weeks. Short-, mid-, and long-term effects of therapy, as well as the ability of MRI to predict treatment outcome and need for surgery, were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline MRI, the short-term follow-up MRI (n = 29) revealed a reduced number of fistula tracks in 13.8% and in the inflammatory activity in 55.2% of patients, respectively; mid-term MRI (n = 25) in 56% and in 52%, respectively; and long-term MRI (n = 13) in 15.4% and in 31%, respectively. Improvement of pfCD based on MRI results coincided with clinical improvement in 54.7% of the patients. Short-term and mid-term (but not long-term) MRI showed a significant decrease in the activity score. Therapy outcome was worse among patients with persisting fistulas (P = .01), collections (P = .009), and rectal wall involvement (P = .01) in the final MRI. Patients with single-branched fistulas (P < .0001) and collections (P = .006) in their baseline MRI were more likely to undergo surgery. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is a useful technique for evaluation of pfCD during the first year of follow-up. In the long-term, the MRI improvement coincides with clinical and endoscopic response to IFX in 50% of the patients.
Authors: D Bouchard; F Pigot; G Staumont; L Siproudhis; L Abramowitz; P Benfredj; C Brochard; N Fathallah; J-L Faucheron; T Higuero; Y Panis; V de Parades; B Vinson-Bonnet; D Laharie Journal: Tech Coloproctol Date: 2019-01-02 Impact factor: 3.781
Authors: Saurabh Kedia; Raju Sharma; Govind K Makharia; Vineet Ahuja; Devendra Desai; Devasenathipathy Kandasamy; Anu Eapen; Karthik Ganesan; Uday C Ghoshal; Naveen Kalra; D Karthikeyan; Kumble Seetharama Madhusudhan; Mathew Philip; Amarender Singh Puri; Sunil Puri; Saroj K Sinha; Rupa Banerjee; Shobna Bhatia; Naresh Bhat; Sunil Dadhich; G K Dhali; B D Goswami; S K Issar; V Jayanthi; S P Misra; Sandeep Nijhawan; Pankaj Puri; Avik Sarkar; S P Singh; Anshu Srivastava; Philip Abraham; B S Ramakrishna Journal: Indian J Gastroenterol Date: 2018-01-06