Beyond white light: Optical enhancement in conjunction with magnification colonoscopy for the assessment of mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis

Background and study aim The I-SCAN optical enhancement (OE) system with magnification is a recently introduced combination of optical and digital electronic virtual chromoendoscopy, which enhances mucosal and vascular details. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the use of I-SCAN OE in the assessment of inflammatory changes in ulcerative colitis (UC). Patients and methods A total of 41 consecutive patients with UC and 9 control patients were examined by I-SCAN OE (Pentax Medical, Tokyo, Japan). Targeted biopsies of the imaged areas were obtained. A new optical enhancement score focusing on mucosal and vascular changes was developed. The diagnostic accuracy of I-SCAN OE was calculated against histology using two UC histological scores-Robarts Histopathology Index (RHI) and ECAP (E xtent, C hronicity, A ctivity, P lus additional findings). Results The overall I-SCAN OE score correlated with ECAP (r =0.70; P <0.001). The accuracy of the overall I-SCAN OE score to detect abnormalities by ECAP was 80% (sensitivity 78%, specificity 100%). I-SCAN OE vascular and mucosal scores correlated with ECAP (r =0.65 and 0.71, respectively; P <0.001). The correlation between overall I-SCAN OE score and RHI was r =0.61 (P <0.01), and the accuracy to detect abnormalities by RHI was 68% (sensitivity 78%, specificity 50%). The majority of patients with Mayo 0 had abnormalities on I-SCAN OE. Conclusion In UC, the new I-SCAN OE technology accurately identified mucosal inflammation, and correlated well with histological scores of chronic and acute changes.