MRE as a screening tool for axSpA in Crohn's Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Magnetic resonance enterography as a screening tool for axial spondyloarthritis in Crohn's disease: A prospective single-center cross-sectional observational study using MRE screening followed by clinical assessment (ProSpA-CD)
IRAS ID
249724
Contact name
Deepak Jadon
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a term that encompasses psoriatic arthritis with axial disease, ankylosing spondylitis and non-radiological axial spondyloarthritis. The prevalence of SpA in the general population is estimated to be between 0.01%-2.5%. SpA patients have a high burden of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which primarily includes Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC), with an estimated prevalence of 10%-12%. However, few studies have investigated the converse; the presence of IBD cases with undiagnosed SpA. Untreated SpA may lead to a significant impact on general health and quality of life; therefore early diagnosis and treatment is crucial. Most CD patients will have had a magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) assessment for their CD, which also captures the axial skeleton and can therefore be used to screen for evidence of axial SpA (axSpA). In this study, MRE images from consenting CD subjects will be reviewed for evidence of axSpA. CD patients with evidence of axSpA will then be reviewed in a rheumatology clinic to assess more specifically for SpA. This will include completion of patient reported outcome measures, clinical examination, routine blood tests, HLA-B27 genotyping and a dedicated axial MRI scan. The patients will also be consented to participate in the second part of the study which will be to compare these ‘cases’ statistically to a ‘control’ group of age- and sex-matched CD subjects without MRE evidence of axSpA (who will also be consented to enter the second part of the study).
This study aims to: (i) determine the validity, sensitivity and specificity of MRE as a screening tool for axSpA in CD patients using dedicated axial MRI scans with clinical assessment as the gold standard; (ii) devise an algorithm of clinical indices that can be used as a screening tool for axSpA in CD cases.REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0686
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion