Conditions: Crohn's Disease
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 252
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate that tight control of disease activity, using stringent criteria based on Crohn's disease activity Index (CDAI), biomarkers (high sensitivity C-reactive protein \[hs-CRP\] and fecal calprotectin), and corticosteroid use, improves the rate of mucosal healing 48 weeks after randomization compared with management using less stringent criteria based only on CDAI and corticosteroid use.

Detailed description:
The study included a 1- to 3-week screening period, up to 8 weeks of prednisone run-in treatment, a 48-week post-randomization treatment period, and a 70 day follow-up phone call or clinic visit, for a total duration of up to 69 weeks.

Participants who met entry criteria were enrolled and initiated an oral prednisone regimen at Baseline (Week 0). At the first key visit, participants were randomized into 1 of 2 groups (Tight Control group or Clinically Driven group), with stratification according to screening smoking status, weight, and disease duration.

The first key visit was the randomization visit; subsequent key visits occurred every 12 weeks following the first key visit. Randomization normally took place 9 weeks after Baseline. However, participants who fulfilled the early randomization criteria may have been randomized as early as the Baseline (Week 0) visit. Therapeutic option changes, if appropriate, occurred at key visits based on results from previous success criteria visits.

Arms:
arm 1: Participants randomized to receive management of disease activity using criteria based on Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fecal calprotectin, and corticosteroid use.

Participants received customized therapy that could include prednisone, adalimumab, and azathioprine. Participants who randomized at Week 9 meeting success criteria started with no therapy; participants who randomized prior to Week 9 or who randomized at Week 9 but did not meet the success criteria began treatment with adalimumab.

Therapy was escalated according to pre-specified tight control criteria: At Key Visit 1 the success criteria were CDAI \< 150, hs-CRP, \< 5 mg/L, fecal calprotectin \< 250 μg/g, and absence of prednisone use. At Key Visits 3, 4, and 5 (every 12 weeks after Key visit 1), the criteria were CDAI \< 150, hs-CRP \< 5 mg/L, fecal calprotectin \< 250 μg/g, and absence of prednisone during the preceding week. arm 2: Participants randomized to receive management of disease activity using criteria based on Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and corticosteroid use.

Participants received customized therapy that could include prednisone, adalimumab, and azathioprine.

Participants who randomized at Week 9 meeting success criteria started with no therapy; participants who randomized prior to Week 9 or who randomized at Week 9 but did not meet the success criteria began treatment with adalimumab.

Therapy was escalated according to pre-specified failure criteria using less stringent criteria:

At Key Visit 1 the criteria for management of disease activity were a CDAI decrease ≥ 70 (CR-70) compared to Baseline or CDAI \< 200 at 1 week prior to the visit. At Key Visits 3, 4, and 5 (every 12 weeks after Key visit 1), the criteria for a change in treatment were a CDAI decrease of ≥ 100 (CR-100) compared to Baseline or CDAI \< 200, and absence of prednisone during the preceding week.

Interventions: intervention 1: Adalimumab intervention 2: Prednisone intervention 3: Azathioprine
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: If adalimumab was initiated, it was administered subcutaneously as a 160 mg induction dose the first week, followed by 80 mg 2 weeks later, followed by 40 mg every other week as a maintenance dose. The dose of adalimumab was increased from 40 mg eow to 40 mg every week in participants with an inadequate response and de-escalated to 40 mg eow in participants who met success criteria. intervention 2: The suggested regimen for participants initiating prednisone consisted of a maximum dose of prednisone 40 mg/day for 2 weeks, followed by a fixed taper for 6 weeks. intervention 3: Participants with normal thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) enzyme activity could receive oral azathioprine 2.5 mg/kg/day. In participants with intermediate TPMT enzyme activity azathioprine was initiated at a dose of 1.25 mg/kg/day. The dose of azathioprine was adjusted according to abnormalities of white blood cell (WBC) count, platelet count, liver function tests (LFTs; i.e. alanine transaminase \[ALT\], aspartate transaminase \[AST\], alkaline phosphatase), lipase, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine.

Protocol document: