Chron’s disease: Hospital da Luz promotes international clinical study

Joana Torres, gastroenterologist at Hospital da Luz and Hospital Beatriz Ângelo (HBA), is the main researcher in the CROCO Clinical Study (Crohn’s Disease Cohort Study) – an international multicentre study, involving over 20 hospital centres in Europe and having for promotor, for the first time, Hospital da Luz Learning Health. The first patient to be followed-up in the study has already been recruited at HBA, one of the participant hospitals.

The main purpose of this research is to assess the progression of intestinal damage in a prospective cohort of patients with Chron’s disease recently diagnosed. The study foresees to include, along the next two years, 600 patients (20 to 40 patients per hospital unit), which will be followed-up for five years.

The intestinal damage will be assessed through Lemman score, recently developed and validated, which involves the periodical application of endoscopy, magnetic resonance enterography and/or high digestive endoscopy and pelvic MRI (according to the location of the disease’s inflammatory lesions). World-renowned specialists in inflammatory bowel disease will be involved.

Chron’s disease is a progressive disease leading to severe intestinal lesions, where, after 10 years of diagnosis, half of the patients need surgery. Notwithstanding the significant advances in therapy, it is still quite incapacitating, deeply affecting the life of the patients, predominantly young adults, besides causing significant morbidity.