title: Bamboo joint-like appearance of the stomach: a stable endoscopic landmark for Crohn's disease regardless of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bamboo joint-like appearance is a common yet easy-to-miss endoscopic finding in the stomach of patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Bamboo joint-like appearance (BJA) is characterized by swollen longitudinal folds transversed by erosive fissures or linear furrows. However, whether BJA is observed during the remission stage of CD and during the active stage is unclear. In particular, the relationship between the course of BJA and anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α therapy has not been studied. We aimed to evaluate the course of BJA in CD patients treated with anti-TNF α therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 22 CD patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenal endoscopy before undergoing anti-TNF α treatment. We evaluated the changes in BJA, clinical activity using the CD activity index (CDAI), and endoscopic activity using the simple endoscopic score for CD (SES-CD) from 6 months to 1 year after anti-TNF α therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen of 22 patients (68.1%) presented with BJA in the stomach, 13 of whom received follow-up esophagogastroduodenal endoscopy after anti-TNF α therapy. The mean CDAI and SES-CD scores significantly improved after anti-TNF α therapy (P<0.01). Despite the marked improvements in clinical and endoscopic findings, the BJA of the stomach remained unchanged in all the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate that BJA is frequently observed in the stomach of CD patients, regardless of whether the patient has active disease or is in remission, even after anti-TNF α therapy. Thus, BJA may be a stable endoscopic landmark in CD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Fuminao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Takeshima
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akazawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kayoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsushima
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiozawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohnita
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Isomoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha