A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Fecal Microbiome and Calprotectin to Predict Relapse in Patients With IBD

September 3, 2019 updated by: Joseph JY SUNG, Chinese University of Hong Kong

A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Fecal Microbiome and Calprotectin to Predict Relapse in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory condition of the intestine, which results in diarrhea, rectal bleeding, urgency, weight loss and abdominal pain. The natural course of IBD is characterized by activity outbreaks and periods of remission. In most cases, relapses in Crohn's disease (CD) and in ulcerative colitis (UC) are unpredictable and despite effective medical treatment, a degree of subclinical inflammation may persist in the bowel wall, contributing to a significant risk of relapse.

In IBD, altered fecal microbiota signatures have been consistently reported which included a reduction in biodiversity with lower proportions of Firmicutes and increases in Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phylum members.

It is however unclear whether changes in microbial profile including diversity and composition can predict disease relapse in IBD. We hypothesize that fecal microbial signatures in conjunction with fecal calprotectin may play a role in predicting relapse in IBD patients.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Detailed Description

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory condition of the intestine, which results in diarrhea, rectal bleeding, urgency, weight loss and abdominal pain. The natural course of IBD is characterized by activity outbreaks and periods of remission. In most cases, relapses in Crohn's disease (CD) and in ulcerative colitis (UC) are unpredictable and despite effective medical treatment, a degree of subclinical inflammation may persist in the bowel wall, contributing to a significant risk of relapse.

Endoscopy has been used to monitor a disease but it is time-consuming, costly, invasive, and associated with certain risks of morbidity. Many patients are reluctant to undergo repeated endoscopic examinations, particularly when their disease is quiescent. Acute phase reactants have been used but their sensitivity and specificity in correlating to intestinal inflammatory activity are very low, and their capacity to predict disease relapse is poor and controversial. A number of fecal biomarkers have been evaluated for their utility for monitoring and predicting relapse in IBD but some of these biomarkers are also not specific.

In IBD, altered fecal microbiota signatures have been consistently reported which included a reduction in biodiversity with lower proportions of Firmicutes and increases in Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phylum members. In addition, disease remission and relapse are associated with microbial changes in both mucosal and fecal samples. In particular, a loss of species richness in Crohn's disease has been widely observed. Recently microbial biomarkers may differentiate between CD and UC. Furthermore, different microbial groups are associated with smoking habit and localization of the disease in CD and UC. It is however unclear whether changes in microbial profile including diversity and composition can predict disease relapse in IBD. We hypothesize that fecal microbial signatures in conjunction with fecal calprotectin may play a role in predicting relapse in IBD patients.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

40

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
        • Recruiting
        • Chinese University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

IBD patients who visit Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patient with Crohn's Disease

  1. Aged ≥18 years old
  2. Confirmed diagnosis of ileo-colonic Crohn's disease according to established clinical, endoscopic and histologic criteria
  3. History of at least one flare with symptoms that required intervention within 24 months before screening
  4. Stable doses of immunosuppressive agents for at least 3 months if these agents are required
  5. In clinical remission for at least 3 months, defined as Harvey Bradshaw Index (HBI) score < 4
  6. Written informed consent obtained

Patient with Ulcerative Colitis

  1. Aged ≥18 years old
  2. Have a confirmed diagnosis of ulcerative colitis according to established clinical, endoscopic and histologic criteria
  3. History of at least one flare with symptoms that required intervention within 24 months before screening
  4. On stable regimen of 5-ASA for at least 3 months
  5. In clinical remission for at least 3 months defined as partial Mayo score ≤ 1
  6. Written informed consent obtained

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Previous bowel surgery /stoma
  2. On anti-TNF therapy
  3. Malignant disease within 5 years
  4. Use of probiotics, prebiotics or antibiotics in past 3 months
  5. Terminal illness

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Clinical relapse for CD patients
Time Frame: 2 years
Defined as worsening of the symptoms, accompanied by HBI score of ≥ 8 points for CD and require a change in therapy.
2 years
Clinical relapse for UC patients
Time Frame: 2 years
Defined as partial Mayo score of ≥ 5 points for UC and require a change in therapy.
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Joseph JY Sung, Prof, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 28, 2019

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

January 28, 2021

Study Completion (Anticipated)

January 28, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 3, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 3, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

September 6, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 6, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 3, 2019

Last Verified

September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IBD MiREL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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