Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy Findings in Patients With Proctosigmoiditis Before and After Initiation of Treatment

Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) is a novel method in evaluation of microscopic structures in vivo. The examination is carried out with a confocal laser endomicroscope, which is either part of the endoscope (manufactured by Pentax) or probe based (manufactured by Cellvizio). Hereby, all parts of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract can be examined. The method has potential to replace conventional microscopy and the dynamic nature of the procedure allows visualization of structures and cellular processes in almost real-time. This provides us with a potentially new diagnostic tool with a promising future. To date only a few studies have been published on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in the literature high-quality research is still lacking. The project consists of a blinded prospective observation and methodology study including inter- and intra-observation of patients with proctitis before and after initiation of local treatment. Hypothesis: CLE can be used to assess the degree and extend of acute and chronic inflammation and treatment response in patients with ulcerative colitis and is a sensitive supplementary to conventional diagnostics.