AIM: To assess the risk of relapse in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in clinical remission using mucosal status and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) results. METHODS: The clinical outcomes of 194 UC patients in clinical remission who underwent colonoscopy were based on evaluations of Mayo endoscopic subscores (MESs) and FIT results. RESULTS: Patients with an MES of 0 (n = 94, 48%) showed a ten-fold lower risk of relapse than those with an MES of 1-3 (n = 100, 52%) (HR = 0.10, 95%CI: 0.05-0.19). A negative FIT result (fecal hemoglobin concentrations ≤ 100 ng/mL) was predictive of patients with an MES of 0, with a sensitivity of 0.94 and a specific of 0.76. Moreover, patients with a negative FIT score had a six-fold lower risk of clinical relapse than those with a positive score (HR = 0.17, 95%CI: 0.10-0.28). Inclusion of the distinguishing parameter, sustaining clinical remission > 12 mo, resulted in an even stronger correlation between negative FIT results and an MES of 0 with respect to the risk of clinical relapse (HR = 0.11, 95%CI: 0.04-0.23). CONCLUSION: Negative FIT results one year or more after remission induction correlate with complete mucosal healing (MES 0) and better prognosis. Performing FIT one year after remission induction may be useful for evaluating relapse risk.
AIM: To assess the risk of relapse in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in clinical remission using mucosal status and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) results. METHODS: The clinical outcomes of 194 UC patients in clinical remission who underwent colonoscopy were based on evaluations of Mayo endoscopic subscores (MESs) and FIT results. RESULTS:Patients with an MES of 0 (n = 94, 48%) showed a ten-fold lower risk of relapse than those with an MES of 1-3 (n = 100, 52%) (HR = 0.10, 95%CI: 0.05-0.19). A negative FIT result (fecal hemoglobin concentrations ≤ 100 ng/mL) was predictive of patients with an MES of 0, with a sensitivity of 0.94 and a specific of 0.76. Moreover, patients with a negative FIT score had a six-fold lower risk of clinical relapse than those with a positive score (HR = 0.17, 95%CI: 0.10-0.28). Inclusion of the distinguishing parameter, sustaining clinical remission > 12 mo, resulted in an even stronger correlation between negative FIT results and an MES of 0 with respect to the risk of clinical relapse (HR = 0.11, 95%CI: 0.04-0.23). CONCLUSION: Negative FIT results one year or more after remission induction correlate with complete mucosal healing (MES 0) and better prognosis. Performing FIT one year after remission induction may be useful for evaluating relapse risk.
Authors: Zohar Levi; Paul Rozen; Rachel Hazazi; Alex Vilkin; Amal Waked; Eran Maoz; Shlomo Birkenfeld; Moshe Leshno; Yaron Niv Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2007-02-20 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Alain M Schoepfer; Christoph Beglinger; Alex Straumann; Ekaterina Safroneeva; Yvonne Romero; David Armstrong; Carsten Schmidt; Michael Trummler; Valérie Pittet; Stephan R Vavricka Journal: Inflamm Bowel Dis Date: 2013-02 Impact factor: 5.325