Bile acid malabsorption in patients with chronic diarrhea and Crohn's disease.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Crohn's disease (CD) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease and is mainly characterized by diarrhea and abdominal pain. The aim of our study was to analyze the usefulness of performing a 75SeHCAT scan in CD patients with chronic diarrhea and suspected bile acid malabsorption (BAM). In addition, we aimed to determine whether there was a relationship with the clinical features of the disease and a previous bowel resection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: this was an observational cross-sectional study of 39 patients with a diagnosis of CD and chronic diarrhea. All cases underwent a 75SeHCAT scan for BAM diagnosis, after discarding disease activity.

RESULTS: the study cohort included 19 females and 20 males. The median age was 44 years and the majority of patients were A2 L1 B1 according to the Montreal classification; 84.6% of patients had undergone a previous bowel resection. BAM was present in 97.4% of patients (100% and 83.3% of patients with and without previous surgery, respectively), which was severe in 92.1% of cases. Treatment with bile acid sequestrants was initiated and a favorable response was obtained in 72.2% of patients. The relationship between BAM degree (moderate or severe), bowel surgery and the response to bile acid sequestrant treatment was also analyzed but not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: BAM is a frequent cause of diarrhea in CD patients in endoscopic or radiological remission. This condition was present in all patients with a history of a bowel resection. A response to bile acid sequestrants treatment was observed in 73% of patients.