title: Assessment of capsule endoscopy scoring index, clinical disease activity, and C-reactive protein in small bowel Crohn's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Small bowel Crohn's disease (SBCD) patients are frequently assessed by capsule endoscopy (CE), which enables direct visualization of small bowel mucosal abnormalities; however, the correlations between CE scoring index (CESI), C-reactive protein (CRP), and disease activity indices remain undefined. We aimed to determine correlations between the CESI, clinical disease activity indices, and CRP in SBCD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study was conducted between October 2008 and February 2011 on 58 established SBCD patients and suspected patients who received a definitive SBCD diagnosis during study. Patients underwent complete CE and were scored according to the CESI and Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI). Statistical correlation among CESI, HBI, and CRP was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Weak, but significant, correlations were found between CESI and HBI (r = 0.4, P < 0.01). The correlation between CESI and CRP was moderate (r = 0.58, P < 0.01). The median CRP value was significantly higher in patients with moderate to severe CESI compared with the mild group (22.60 ± 16.79 mg/L vs 11.88 ± 8.39 mg/L, P < 0.01). Changes between baseline and follow-up CESI failed to correlate with the delta-HBI or delta-CRP (both, P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this cohort of SBCD patients, clinical disease activity index was not reliable predictors of mucosal inflammation. CRP, however, might be a useful inflammatory marker for evaluating the moderate to severe CE activity in SBCD patients. Furthermore, therapy-induced clinical and biological improvement was not associated with repair of SBCD mucosal lesions.
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease, Shanghai, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Yang
authors: Zhi-Zheng
authors: ZZ
authors: Ge
authors: Yun-Jie
authors: YJ
authors: Gao
authors: Xiao-Bo
authors: XB
authors: Li
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Dai
authors: Yao
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Han-Bing
authors: HB
authors: Xue
authors: Yun-Jia
authors: YJ
authors: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D053704:Capsule Endoscopy; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein