Data collection and outcomes

The baseline characteristics at the time of SBCE collected from the medical records were age, sex, disease duration, body mass index, disease location, disease behavior according to the Montreal Classification system, history of CD surgery, previous and concomitant CD medication (including enteral nutrition, budesonide, immunomodulators, and biotherapy), CDAI score, ⁸ white blood cell count (WBC, cells/μL), hemoglobin concentration (g/dL), platelet count (×10⁴/μL), CRP (mg/dL) level, serum albumin level (g/dL), and LRG (μg/mL).

We used PillCam SB3 (Medtronic, MN, Minneapolis, USA) in all SBCE examinations. SBCE images were assessed by three physicians certified by the Japanese Association for Capsule Endoscopy with more than 10 years of experience. The Lewis score ¹ and CECDAI ² were used to evaluate endoscopic activity in SBCE. We analyzed the correlation between the WBC, CRP, and LRG and the Lewis score or CECDAI. Then, we compared the presence or absence of intervention and the relapse rate of patients who could not achieve mucosal healing. The need for therapeutic intervention was determined by the attending physician based on the results of the SBCE. Relapse was defined as a worsening of CDAI above 151 or the need for therapeutic intervention.