OBJECTIVETo evaluate the diagnostic value of Crohn disease activity indices (CDAI) in assessing symptomatic recurrence following ileocolic resection for Crohn disease.

METHODSA total of 85 patients who underwent ileocolic resection between March 2003 and March 2010 were included. Clinical and endoscopic evaluation were performed within 12 months after operation. Endoscopic appearance was assessed using Rutgeers score and endoscopic recurrence was defined as endoscopic score ≥i2. Symptomatic recurrence was defined by the composite of symptom severity warranting medical therapy and endoscopic recurrence. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to explore the utility of CDAI in determining the presence or absence of symptomatic disease.

RESULTSNineteen patients had symptomatic recurrence within 12 months postoperatively. The mean CDAI of patients with symptomatic recurrence was 205±93, significantly higher than those with sustained remission(97±44, P<0.01). The area under the ROC curve for symptomatic recurrence and CDAI was 0.786. Symptomatic recurrence was best predicted by a CDAI cutoff of 150 and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy was 73.7%, 81.8% and 80.0% respectively. When a combined endoscopic and CDAI was applied, the specificity and accuracy was markedly improved to 95.5% and 90.6%. In comparison to CDAI alone, the combined use of CDAI and endoscopic evaluation had a higher level of agreement on symptomatic recurrence(Kappa value, 0.718 vs. 0.462).

CONCLUSIONSCDAI is effective to predict symptomatic recurrence. A combination of CDAI and endoscopic evaluation can further improve the accuracy of assessing symptomatic recurrence.