A Pilot Study of Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy to Predict Barrier Dysfunction and Relapse in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Objectives: Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) is a novel imaging modality that enables virtual optical biopsy in vivo. Loss of barrier function of the small bowel observed via pCLE as increased density of epithelial gaps (extrusion zones left in the intestinal lining after cells are shed) is predictive of relapse in adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aims to determine whether such observations on pCLE are similarly predictive of disease relapse in pediatric patients with IBD.