title: Microalbuminuria is not a valuable marker for relapse in Crohn's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous reports correlated microalbuminuria with disease activity in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of the present study is to determine the value of microalbuminuria as a marker for relapses in quiescent CD.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a 1-year prospective maintenance trial with oral budesonide in patients with CD in remission, microalbuminuria was measured at randomization, after 2, 6 and 12 months, plus at the time of a relapse. The association of microalbuminuria with the course of disease was analyzed with logistic regression analysis. Time-dependent Cox regression was undertaken to study the association between microalbuminuria and relapse.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included a total of 139 patients. At randomization, microalbuminuria was present in 8 patients. During a 1-year follow-up, 29 patients relapsed and in 11% (3/29), microalbuminuria was present during the relapse. We found no statistically significant association between microalbuminuria and relapse (odds ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76-1.13). Time-dependent Cox regression analysis also revealed no statistical predictive value for microalbuminuria (hazard ratio 1.29, 95% CI 0.37-4.39, p = 0.68).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microalbuminuria was moderately prevalent in quiescent CD patients, but it could not be associated with disease characteristics or the type of medication before randomization, nor as a predictor for relapses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Horjus
authors.forename: M G H
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: van Oijen
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Davids
authors.forename: A H J
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Naber
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: de Jong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000209:etiology*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D019819:Budesonide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D019819:Budesonide