Use of a Non-Endoscopic Capsule-Sponge Triage Test for Reflux Symptoms: Results From the NHS England Prospective Real-World Evaluation.

Background: Acid reflux is a common presentation in primary care leading to a high volume of referrals to endoscopy that are often normal.

Aims: To determine whether a non-endoscopic capsule sponge biomarker test could triage patients with low-risk reflux symptoms, reduce endoscopy waiting lists and identify Barrett's oesophagus in a real-world setting.

Methods: Patients with reflux symptoms on NHS endoscopy waiting lists who were offered a capsule sponge (test group) between February 2021 and August 2022 were included in this national multicentre prospective cohort study and compared with eligible patients on the standard endoscopy pathway (counterfactual group).

Lack of efficacy of a reduced microparticle diet in a multi-centred trial of patients with active Crohn's disease.

Background And Aims: Dietary microparticles, which are bacteria-sized and non-biological, found in the modern Western diet, have been implicated in both the aetiology and pathogenesis of Crohn's disease. Following on from the findings of a previous pilot study, we aimed to confirm whether a reduction in the amount of dietary microparticles facilitates induction of remission in patients with active Crohn's disease, in a single-blind, randomized, multi-centre, placebo controlled trial.

Methods: Eighty-three patients with active Crohn's disease were randomly allocated in a 2 x 2 factorial design to a diet low or normal in microparticles and/or calcium for 16 weeks.