The stability of the fecal microbiota in Crohn’s disease patients with changing disease course. CD follow-up study

Microbial shifts have been associated with disease activity in Crohn’s disease (CD), but findings on specific taxa are not always consistent. We aimed to prospectively examine the fecal microbiota, by means of next-generation sequencing, in adult well-characterized CD patients with either changing or stable disease course over time. Fecal samples were collected at two time points from 15 healthy individuals (HC), 35 CD patients with stable disease course (remission) and 22 CD patients during remission and subsequent exacerbation. CD patients showed a lower temporal stability than healthy controls, but this was not affected by differences in disease course.