Clinical outcomes of serial endoscopic balloon dilation for duodenal Crohn's disease-associated strictures.

Background: Endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) is a safe and effective treatment for Crohn's disease (CD)-associated strictures. However, serial EBDs have rarely been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of serial EBDs for treating CD-associated duodenal strictures compared with intermittent EBDs.

Methods: Patients with CD-associated duodenal strictures who underwent EBD were recruited. The clinical data, stricture characteristics, number of EBDs, dilation diameter, complications, surgical interventions, and follow-up periods were recorded. Patients were divided into a serial dilation group and an intermittent dilation group to analyze the differences in safety and efficacy.

Results: Forty-five patients with duodenal CD-associated strictures underwent a total of 139 dilations. A total of 23 patients in the serial dilation group underwent 72 dilations, for a median of 3 (range 3 ~ 4) dilations per patient, and 22 patients in the intermittent dilation group underwent 67 dilations, for a median of 3 (range 1 ~ 6) dilations per patient. Technical success was achieved in 97.84% (136/139) of the patients. During the follow-up period, three patients in the intermittent dilation group underwent surgery, and the total clinical efficacy was 93.33% (42/45). No difference in safety or short-term efficacy was noted between the two groups, but serial EBDs exhibited significantly greater clinical efficacy between 6 months and 2 years. No significant difference in recurrence-free survival was observed, but the median longest recurrence-free survival and recurrence-free survival after the last EBD in the serial dilation group were 693 days (range 298 ~ 1381) and 815 days (range 502 ~ 1235), respectively, which were significantly longer than the 415 days (range 35 ~ 1493) and 291 days (range 34 ~ 1493) in the intermittent dilation group (p = 0.013 and p = 0.000, respectively). At the last follow-up, the mean diameter of the duodenal lumen was 1.17 ± 0.07 cm in the serial dilation group, which was greater than the 1.11 ± 0.10 cm in the intermittent dilation group (p = 0.018). We also found that the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease was associated with an increased risk of surgical intervention (HR 2.377, 95% CI 1.125-5.020; p = 0.023) and recurrence at 6 months after the last EBD (HR 0.698, 95% CI 0.511-0.953; p = 0.024), as assessed by univariate analysis.

Conclusions: Compared to the intermittent EBDs, serial EBDs for duodenal CD-associated strictures exhibit greater clinical efficacy within two years and could delay stricture recurrence. We suggest that serial EBDs can be a novel option for endoscopic treatment of duodenal CD-associated strictures.