Intestinal permeability in Crohn's disease and its relation to disease activity and relapse following treatment with an elemental diet

Objective: To assess the relationship between clinical disease activity, intestinal permeability and intestinal inflammation in patients with small intestinal Crohn's disease. Methods: Twenty-nine patients with small intestinal Crohn's disease were assessed clinically and underwent permeability studies with iso-, hyper- and hypo-osmolar test solutions and indium-111 leucocyte studies, which involved faecal collections over 4 days, to quantify intestinal inflammation. Thirteen patients were re-studied following treatment with an elemental diet and followed-up to assess whether any of the parameters could predict early relapse following this treatment