Colonoscopic findings in Crohn's disease--reproducible, but of questionable benefit.

ABSTRACT

Colonoscopy, a useful diagnostic tool in inflammatory bowel disease, is very accurate in detecting disease and assessing disease extent in Crohn's disease. Despite their accuracy, colonoscopic findings have not been routinely used in the objective follow-up of patients with Crohn's disease. The GETAID (Groupe d'études theraputic des affections inflammatoire du tube digestif) group has shown that following an intensive training period, endoscopists can describe colonoscopic findings in a reproducible manner. However, these descriptions poorly correlate both with clinical or laboratory indexes, and with short or medium term prognosis following prednisolone therapy.