The impact of severity and location of Crohn's disease (CD) endoscopic ulcers on endoscopic remission in patients treated with antitumor necrosis factor is poorly known. We aimed to describe the endoscopic evolution of CD lesions in a prospective cohort of patients treated with infliximab (IFX) in combo therapy.
We conducted a post hoc analysis of the TAILORIX randomized controlled trial, which studied biologic-naïve patients with active CD and endoscopic ulcers receiving IFX combo therapy. Ileocolonoscopies were performed at week 0, 12, and 54. Endoscopic healing was defined as the absence of ulcers and complete endoscopic remission as CD Endoscopic Index of Severity (CDEIS) <3. Ileocolonic segments were scored separately for remission by blinded readers.
A total of 122 (median disease duration: 7 months) patients were included, corresponding with 379 diseased segments. The median (IQR) CDEIS scores at week 0, 12, and 54 were 9.9 (6.1-14.4), 2.4 (0.2-4.6), and 0.2 (0.0-3.7), respectively. At weeks 12 and 54, the rates of endoscopic healing and complete endoscopic remission were 41% and 61% and 61% and 73%, respectively. Median CDEIS scores were similar among patients with deep ulcers at baseline and those with only superficial ulcers at week 12 and 54. Segmental remission rates were lower both at week 12 and 54 in the ileum compared with colonic segments (P < 0.01 all comparisons) and in the rectum (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03).
In biologic-naive patients with CD treated with IFX combo therapy, the severity of endoscopic lesions at the baseline did not influence healing rates. Endoscopic remission occurs less frequently in the ileum compared with the colon.