Cure8 research brief
Better detection of enteric infections during suspected IBD flares could help avoid unnecessary escalation of immunosuppressive therapy and guide appropriate antibiotic use. This review suggests MPCR finds more pathogens than conventional testing and may influence short-term treatment decisions.
Patients with IBD experiencing flares, gastroenterologists and IBD clinicians, and researchers focused on diagnostics and management strategies in IBD.
The study pooled 20 studies with 5,273 patients and found an overall pooled prevalence of enteric pathogens of about 30% by MPCR, and about 49% among patients presenting with flares. MPCR was more likely than conventional methods to detect pathogens (pooled OR reported).
A small number of included studies suggested that using PCR results changed management by reducing short-term escalation of immunosuppression, though PCR-positive patients received more antibiotics. The review authors note most data are retrospective and heterogeneous and call for randomized trials to assess longer-term outcomes.
Findings are mainly from retrospective, heterogeneous studies; pooled results may be affected by confounding and differences in PCR panels and clinical practice. The article calls for randomized trials to confirm clinical benefits and assess long-term outcomes.
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This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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