Advice

Expert comments

Expert comments

Comments on this technology were invited from clinical experts working in the field and relevant patient organisations. The comments received are individual opinions and do not represent NICE's view.

Three experts were familiar with or had used this technology before.

Level of innovation

All 3 experts agreed PredictSURE IBD was a novel technology. One said it was designed to enable people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to have improved prognosis. They added that in theory, patients could be treated empirically based on the results of the test if it was shown to be robust and accurate. The other 2 experts said that the safety and efficacy of the technology remained uncertain because of the limited evidence base.

Potential patient impact

All 3 experts agreed that PredictSURE IBD could benefit people with IBD, including ulcerative colitis. They said that PredictSURE IBD could help determine the most appropriate treatment, and reduce the risk of relapse, by identifying who had a high likelihood of a severe, relapsing flare-up and offering them maintenance treatment. They said that everyone with active IBD would benefit from this technology. One expert noted that this could be particularly important to people with severe inflammation and may help avoid surgery and long-term complications.

Potential system impact

All 3 experts agreed that PredictSURE IBD could help clinicians decide on treatment for individual people. One noted that there was potential for this to reduce the length of hospital stays, surgery and long-term complications. However, this is highly dependent on the positive predictive value of the test, which has not yet been determined. Two experts said that using PredictSURE IBD was likely to lead to cost savings.

General comments

Two experts said that the technology would be helpful as an addition to current care for managing IBD. One noted that the current evidence suggests that the test successfully predicts disease outcomes in the early stages. However, its value depends on the effectiveness of early intervention and how well it discriminates between good and poor outcomes.