Knowledge and acceptability of the Lémann Index as a tool to measure disease progression and bowel damage in Crohn's disease: results from an international survey

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Crohn's disease (CD) progresses to structural bowel damage (SBD). The Lémann Index (LI) captures stricture extent/severity, penetrating disease and surgery as a SBD score, and is earmarked for future CD modification trials. Understanding knowledge gaps and perceived barriers is critical to wider adoption.

METHODS: A multinational, cross-sectional study was distributed through a survey link (REDCap, Research Electronic Data Capture) to gastrointestinal professional societies with snowball sampling using 23 questionnaire items in 5 sections to determine SBD and LI knowledge, and LI acceptability. Factors associated with acceptability and perception were evaluated.

RESULTS: Of the 107 respondents, 49 (45.8%) were female; 87 (81.3%) were from Europe. Most were inflammatory bowel disease specialists (n = 80, 74.8%) or general gastroenterologists (n = 22, 20.6%), managing > 40 CD patients per month (n = 35, 32.7%). A total of 98 (91.6%) knew about SBD; "very important" rating for clinical trials and clinical practice was 56.1% and 41.4%, respectively. A 39.3% describe LI scoring as "very difficult" or "difficult"; 33.6% reported "significant" or "a lot" of effort. Acceptability (composite scores of > 36) were significantly associated with respondents who had received LI training (P<0.001). Automated methods, intestinal ultrasound and evidence of benefit would encourage LI use in clinical trials, while additional time and automated methods would promote use in clinical practice. The top 3 perceived adoption barriers were: lack of time (60.7%), limited automated methods (47.7%) and need for dedicated radiologists (38.3%).

CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents had baseline knowledge of SBD. The LI was perceived as important for advancing future CD research and care. More training and automation will facilitate LI adoption.