Abstract
Abstract Background Intestinal ultrasound is an accurate tool for assessing inflammatory bowel disease activity1. Previous studies showed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can impact treatment decisions in 48% of appointments2. Early diagnosis and treatment improves outcomes in Crohn’s disease (CD). We aimed to investigate if POCUS in the IBD clinic led to earlier initiation of advanced therapies using a randomised controlled trial. Methods Patients attending an IBD clinic at a UK tertiary referral centre with known or suspected IBD (with a high likelihood) were eligible. During the primary clinic appointment clinicians’ investigation and treatment decisions were recorded. Immediately following this they were randomised 1:1 to POCUS or standard of care (SOC). The POCUS group then had further review with an option to alter treatment decisions. The primary end-point was time to initiating definitive therapy (in days) (new/changed immunomodulator, advanced therapy or surgery only). Secondary end-points included clinical score (HBI, SCCAI), calprotectin and patient tolerability. Patients were followed for 12 months. Results 122 patients were enrolled between 1st June and 1st November 2023. Median age was 25 years (16-79) and 50% male with a final diagnosis of 87 CD, 23 UC, 4 IBD-U and 8 non IBD (new referrals). 63 had POCUS and 59 SOC. POCUS was performed by one of two sonographers (one gastroenterologist and one radiologist). 65 (53%) were on advanced therapy or immunomodulators at baseline. 99 (81%) had advanced therapy, immunomodulators or surgery during the study period. Mean time to definitive treatment decision was 43 days with POCUS compared to 92 days in SOC (p<0.01). 65 (53%) patients had a change of, or started a new therapy and mean time to treatment initiation was also significantly shorter in the POCUS group, 75 days, compared to SOC, 131 days (p=0.033). In a sub-group of 20 new referrals, 12 were diagnosed with IBD. Mean time to treatment initiation was shorter with POCUS (82 vs 151 days). Steroid prescriptions at the baseline appointment were significantly higher in the POCUS group, 11/63 vs 2/59 (p = 0.012). Any change to treatment in the POCUS group occurred in 29/63 (46%) patients. Scans took an average of 7.5 minutes with 100% patient acceptability. Conclusion POCUS leads to earlier IBD-related decision making which translates into earlier initiation of effective therapy. This should, in turn, lead to improved care with shorter time to remission and reduced complications. Pathways to incorporate POCUS into routine clinical practice to optimise its effectiveness need further evaluation. This will require collaborative training and working across multiple specialties to effectively deliver this service. References (1)Taylor SA, Mallett S, Bhatnagar G, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance enterography and small bowel ultrasound for the extent and activity of newly diagnosed and relapsed Crohn’s disease (METRIC): a multicentre trial. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;3(8):548-558. doi:10.1016/S2468-1253(18)30161-4 (2)Bots S, De Voogd F, De Jong M, et al. Point-of-care Intestinal Ultrasound in IBD Patients: Disease Management and Diagnostic Yield in a Real-world Cohort and Proposal of a Point-of-care Algorithm. J Crohns Colitis. 2022;16(4):606-615. doi:10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjab175
Published Version
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