SUBOWSPA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identifying SUB-clinical BOWel Inflammation In Early axSPA: The SUBOWSPA Study
IRAS ID
358616
Contact name
Dennis McGonagle
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Overlap between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is common, with 10% of people with axSpA also having IBD and 5% of people with IBD also having axSpA. Having both axSpA and IBD leads to worse quality of life, poorer functional outcomes, and can limit the medications we can use to treat each disease. In patients with axSpA up to half have hidden bowel inflammation on colonoscopy and biopsy, which significantly increases the risk of developing IBD. Identifying spinal inflammation and bowel inflammation in patients with IBD and axSpA is therefore essential to earlier diagnosis, enhanced screening strategies and choosing the best treatments for each patient.
MRI of the small bowel is widely used to diagnose and manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), due to its ability to identify inflammation without requiring colonoscopy. Similarly, MRI of the spine has allowed earlier identification of inflammation in patients with axSpA. We want to explore whether a novel MRI protocol combining MRI of the bowel (used commonly in IBD) and MRI of the spine (used commonly in axSpA), in combination with a new technique to investigate altered bowel permeability in one setting is feasible and acceptable.
We aim to recruit 15 participants with axSpA and 15 with IBD, who are not currently on any targeted treatments for the new MRI protocol. We will ask them to abstain from alcohol and smoking for 72 hours before the MRI and to avoid the use of certain anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen for 2 weeks. The main outcome is the proportion of patients who are able to complete the whole novel MRI protocol. We will also look at patient acceptability through a questionnaire and look at the number of patients with any findings on the novel MRI scan.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SW/0094
Date of REC Opinion
17 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion