Earlier detection, earlier intervention
“The study is really important,” said session comoderator Raymond K. Cross Jr., MD, professor of medicine and director of the IBD program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Monitoring devices like this “could be very useful,” Dr. Cross said. “It is not invasive, unless you consider a device in your house invasive. But, to me, I don’t think a box in my bedroom would be unnerving to me.”
Dr. Cross shared a couple of caveats. “The one devil in the details is always going to be cost,” he said. Also, it’s unclear who will read and interpret all the data generated by the device among “providers who are already overwhelmed with the volume of information.”
Moving forward, a device like this could offer multiple uses, Dr. Cross noted. If the device can detect relapses earlier, physicians could intervene sooner, he said. Also, the device could potentially flag people who are not taking their medications as recommended, or it could be used as a guide to optimize treatment response.
Whether data from the device could indicate when it’s appropriate to reduce the frequency or dose of medication or even when to withdraw therapy would be “really aspirational,” Dr. Cross added.
The study was funded by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Dr. Korzenik and Dr. Cross report no relevant financial relationships.
DDW is sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT).
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
