Pulmonary diffusion abnormalities in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A longitudinal study.
Maisonneuve Hugo H, Caron Benedicte B, Guillaumot Anne A, Poussel Mathias M et al.
Impaired diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) has been frequently described among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, but longitudinal data of DLCO impairment and its association with IBD activity remain unclear. To describe the longitudinal report of prevalence and clinical characteristics of chronic DLCO impairment among patients with IBD reporting respiratory symptoms. We conducted a prospective single-center study including consecutive patients with confirmed IBD and respiratory symptoms. Patients underwent longitudinal evaluation with chest CT scans and pulmonary function tests. Among 75 patients with DLCO measurements, 12 (16%) showed persistently reduced DLCO over a median follow-up of 26.9 [IQR 24.9-30.6] months. Median DLCO was 63.4% of predicted value. All patients had mild or inactive IBD and were on biologics. Imaging abnormalities were mild and did not explain the DLCO reduction. Chronic DLCO impairment was observed in 16.0% of IBD patients and no obvious association with clinically active IBD was observed in this selected symptomatic cohort.