Endoscopic biopsy diagnosis of acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease: rectosigmoid biopsies are more sensitive than upper gastrointestinal biopsies

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) graft- versus -host disease (GVHD) is based upon histologic findings in endoscopic mucosal biopsy specimens. The portion of the GI tract with the highest diagnostic yield is a topic of debate. Our aim was to evaluate the sensitivity of simultaneous biopsy of the stomach, duodenum, and rectosigmoid in establishing the diagnosis of GI GVHD.
METHODS: We identified 112 patients who had simultaneous endoscopic biopsies of the stomach, duodenum, and rectosigmoid within the first 100 days following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). GVHD was defined histologically as the presence of gland apoptosis, not explained by other inflammatory or infectious etiologies. The patient was diagnosed with GI GVHD if at least one biopsy site was positive.
RESULTS: Overall, 81% of the patients had GI GVHD. Of these, 66% had involvement at all three biopsy sites. Rectosigmoid biopsies had the highest sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for diagnosing GI GVHD, at 95.6%, 100%, 100%, and 84%, respectively. The sensitivities of gastric and duodenal biopsies were 72.5% ( P < 0.0001 vs rectosigmoid) and 79.2% ( P = 0.0018), respectively. The negative predictive values of gastric and duodenal biopsies were 45.6% ( P = 0.0039 vs rectosigmoid) and 52.5% ( P = 0.0205), respectively. Rectosigmoid biopsies had a higher sensitivity and negative predictive value than biopsies at other sites whether the patient presented with diarrhea or nausea/vomiting. No association between the degree of mucosal injury and the presence of GVHD was found at any site.
CONCLUSIONS: Biopsy of the rectosigmoid is the single best test for diagnosing GI GVHD.