Comparison of different histological indexes in the assessment of UC activity and their accuracy regarding endoscopic outcomes and faecal calprotectin levels.

OBJECTIVE: Histological remission is being increasingly acknowledged as a therapeutic endpoint in patients with UC. The work hereafter described aimed to evaluate the concordance between three histological classification systems-Geboes Score (GS), Nancy Index (NI) and RobartsHistopathologyIndex (RHI), as well as to evaluate their association with the endoscopic outcomes and the faecal calprotectin (FC) levels. DESIGN: Biopsy samples from 377 patients with UC were blindly evaluated using GS, NI and RHI. The results were compared with the patients' Mayo Endoscopic Score and FC levels. RESULT: GS, NI and RHI have a good concordance concerning the distinction between patients in histological remission or activity. RHI was particularly close to NI, with 100% of all patients classified as being in remission with NI being identified as such with RHI and 100% of all patients classified as having activity with RHI being identified as such with NI. These scores could also predict the Mayo Endoscopic Score and the FC levels, with their sensitivity and specificity levels depending on the chosen cut-offs. Moreover, higher FC levels were statistically associated with the presence of neutrophils in the epithelium, as well as with ulceration or erosion of the intestinal mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: GS, NI and RHI histopathological scoring systems are comparable in what concerns patients' stratification into histological remission/activity. Additionally, FC levels are increased when neutrophils are present in the epithelium and the intestinal mucosa has erosions or ulcers. The presence of neutrophils in the epithelium is, indeed, the main marker of histological activity.

Assessment of histologic disease activity in Crohn's disease: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is an idiopathic, chronic, transmural inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Because mucosal involvement is near-universal, endoscopic healing has emerged as an important aspect in improving outcome. However, resolution of histologic disease activity has potential to convey additional benefit beyond that attained with endoscopic healing alone. Validated scoring systems of histologic disease activity are required to further assess this possibility. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing histologic disease activity indices (HDAI) for CD and to assess their operating properties and potential use as outcome measures in clinical trials. METHODS: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), PubMed, the Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), and Digestive Disease Week (DDW) abstracts were searched from 1981 to April 2013 for applicable studies to identify relevant studies for review and analysis. RESULTS: In total, 3732 citations were screened to obtain 89 articles for inclusion. Sixty-six HDAIs were characterized as either stepwise or numerical instruments. These HDAIs were used for either assessment of response to medical therapy or for comparison with biomarkers or imaging tests. None of the HDAIs identified was developed according to currently accepted methods for developing evaluative instruments, and none have been formally validated. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of histologic disease activity has potential value in CD; however, no validated measures are available. Additional research is needed to develop a methodologically rigorous instrument for use in clinical investigation and potentially for clinical practice.