AUTHOR=Calabrese Carlo , Gelli Dania , Rizzello Fernando , Gionchetti Paolo , Torrejon Torres Rafael , Saunders Rhodri , Davis Jason 

TITLE=Capsule endoscopy in Crohn's disease surveillance: A monocentric, retrospective analysis in Italy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medical Technology

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medical-technology/articles/10.3389/fmedt.2022.1038087

DOI=10.3389/fmedt.2022.1038087

ISSN=2673-3129

ABSTRACT=Crohn’s disease (CD) is a potentially debilitating condition that burdens Italian healthcare substantially. The symptomatic management relies on prompt therapy adjustment to reduce flares and follow-up diagnostic inputs to maximise remission. Capsule endoscopy (CE) has introduced advantages in CD diagnostics, allowing the direct inspection of the entire gastrointestinal mucosa. The diagnostic procedure is comparable in effort to standard ileocolonoscopy (IC) but requires no anaesthesia. This study provides a preliminary evaluation of CE in the surveillance of CD in terms of clinical outcomes with respect to the standard of care ileocolonoscopy/MRE in Italy.
The two techniques performed similarly overall and no significant difference between groups emerged in the use of biologics. The use of biologics appears reduced in the CE group only in L4 patients after the first follow-up year. Similarly, surgery was seemingly less frequent among L4 patients in the CE group. No difference was found between groups in flare occurrence and duration. CE patients might have experienced longer and earlier first remissions, but no long-term difference persisted. The CE group showed an apparent reduction in biologics and surgery, limiting to L4 diagnoses. More extensive, prospective, multicentre, randomised studies must corroborate these preliminary findings.