Microalbuminuria is not a valuable marker for relapse in Crohn's disease.
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.
Horjus
C S
CS
Department of Gastroenterology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
van Oijen
M G H
MG
Davids
A H
AH
Naber
A H J
AH
de Jong
D J
DJ
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
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D019819:Budesonide