Aim: To investigate the small bowel of seronegative spondyloarthropathy (SpA) patients in order to ascertain the presence of mucosal lesions.
Methods: Between January 2008 and June 2010, 54 consecutive patients were enrolled and submitted to a video capsule endoscopy (VCE) examination. History and demographic data were taken, as well as the history of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) consumption. After reading each VCE recording, a capsule endoscopy scoring index for small bowel mucosal inflammatory change (Lewis score) was calculated. Statistical analysis of the data was performed.
Results: The Lewis score for the whole cohort was 397.73. It was higher in the NSAID consumption subgroup (P = 0.036). The difference in Lewis score between NSAID users and non-users was reproduced for the first and second proximal tertiles of the small bowel, but not for its distal third (P values of 0.036, 0.001 and 0.18, respectively). There was no statistical significant difference between the groups with regard to age or sex of the patients.
Conclusion: The intestinal inflammatory involvement of SpA patients is more prominent in NSAID users for the proximal/mid small bowel, but not for its distal part.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00768950.
Keywords: Lewis score; Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Small bowel mucosal injury; Spondyloarthropathy; Videocapsule endoscopy.