Background: The Rutgeerts score (RS) is widely used to predict postoperative recurrence after ileocolonic resection for Crohn's disease (CD) based on the severity of lesions at the neoterminal ileum and anastomosis (RS i0-i4). However, the value of anastomotic ulcers remains controversial.
Objectives: Our aim was to establish a nomogram model incorporating ileal and anastomotic lesions separately to predict the long-term outcomes of CD after ileal or ileocolonic resection.
Design: A total of 136 patients with CD were included in this retrospective cohort study.
Methods: Consecutive CD patients who underwent ileal or ileocolonic resections with postoperative ileocolonoscopy evaluation within 1 year after the surgery were included. The primary endpoint was postoperative clinical relapse (CR). An endoscopic classification separating ileal and anastomotic lesions was applied (Ix for neoterminal ileum lesions; Ax for anastomotic lesions). A nomogram was constructed to predict CR. The performance of the model was evaluated by the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA).
Results: CR was observed in 47.1% (n = 64) of patients within a median follow-up of 26.9 (interquartile range, 11.4-55.2) months. The risk of CR was significantly higher in patients with an RS ⩾ i2 assessed by the first postoperative endoscopy compared with patients with an RS ⩽ i1 (p < 0.001). Moreover, the cumulative rate of CR was significantly higher in patients with ileal lesions (I1-4) compared with patients without (I0) (p < 0.001). Besides, patients with anastomotic lesions (A1-3) had significantly higher rates of CR than patients without (A0) (p = 0.002). A nomogram, incorporating scores of postoperative ileal or anastomotic lesions, sex, L2-subtype and perianal disease, was established. The DCA analysis indicated that the nomogram had a higher benefit for CR, especially at the timeframe of 24-60 months after index endoscopy, compared to the traditional RS score.
Conclusion: A nomogram incorporating postoperative ileal and anastomotic lesions separately was developed to predict CR in CD patients, which may serve as a practical tool to identify high-risk patients who need timely postoperative intervention.
Background: Many patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have transitioned from an infliximab originator to a biosimilar. However, some patients retransition to the originator (i.e. stop biosimilar and reinitiate the originator). Whether this sign of potential unsatisfactory treatment response is specifically related to the infliximab biosimilar or the patient and/or the disease including patients' beliefs on the biosimilar is unclear.
Objectives: We aimed to compare the risk of and reasons for infliximab discontinuation between retransitioned patients and those remaining on biosimilar.
Design: Non-interventional, multicentre cohort study.
Methods: IBD patients who transitioned from infliximab originator to biosimilar between January 2015 and September 2019 in two Dutch hospitals were eligible for this study. Retransitioned patients (retransitioning cohort) were matched with patients remaining on biosimilar (biosimilar remainder cohort). Reasons for discontinuation were categorised as the unwanted response (i.e. loss of effect or adverse events) or remission. Risk of unwanted discontinuation was compared using Cox proportional hazards models.
Results: Patients in the retransitioning cohort (n = 44) were younger (median age 39.9 versus 44.0 years), more often female (65.9% versus 48.9%) and had shorter dosing intervals (median 48.5 versus 56.0 days) than in the biosimilar remainder cohort (n = 127). Infliximab discontinuation due to unwanted response was 22.7% in the retransitioning and 13.4% in the biosimilar remainder cohort, and due to remission was 2.3% and 9.4%, respectively. Retransitioned patients are at increased risk of discontinuing due to unwanted response compared with biosimilar remainder patients (adjusted HR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.0-13.9). Patients who retransitioned due to an increase in objective disease markers had higher discontinuation rates than patients who retransitioned due to symptoms only (66.7% versus 23.7%).
Conclusion: Retransitioned patients are at increased risk of infliximab discontinuation due to unwanted response. Retransitioning appeared related to the patient and/or disease and not the product. Clinicians might switch patients opting for retransitioning to other treatment regimens.
Background: Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of developing colorectal neoplasia (CRN) in the proximal colon.
Objectives: To evaluate whether duration and severity of inflammation are linked to the development of CRN in this population.
Design: Retrospective, case-control chart review of patients with PSC and IBD at a tertiary care center.
Methods: Disease activity was scored per colonic segment at each colonoscopy prior to the first instance of observed CRN using a modified Mayo endoscopic sub-score and histologic assessment. Patients in the CRN-positive group were compared to controls that did not.
Results: In all, 72 PSC-IBD patients with no history of CRN were identified, 13 of whom developed CRN after at least one colonoscopy at our institution. Patients in the CRN-positive group had significantly more endoscopic (p < 0.01) and histologic (p < 0.01) inflammation in the right compared to the control group prior to the development of dysplasia. There was significantly greater endoscopic inflammation in the segment of the colon with a dysplastic lesion than other segments of the colon (p = 0.018). Patients with moderate/severe lifetime endoscopic (p = 0.02) or histologic inflammation (p = 0.04) score had a lower probability of remaining free of dysplasia during follow-up. Nearly half of the patients with dysplasia had invisible lesions found on random biopsy.
Conclusions: Endoscopic and histologic inflammation in the proximal colon are risk factors for CRN in patients with PSC-IBD. PSC-IBD patients frequently have subclinical inflammation, and these findings support the practice of regular assessment of disease activity and random biopsy of inflamed and uninflamed areas in patients with PSC with the goal of reducing inflammation to prevent the development of CRN.
A standard bismuth quadruple therapy, a fluoroquinolone-containing triple (or quadruple) therapy or a proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-amoxicillin high-dose dual therapy has been recommended as a second-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection by the Maastricht VI/Florence Consensus Report. The major shortcoming of levofloxacin-amoxicillin triple therapy is low cure rate for eradicating levofloxacin-resistant strains. With the rising prevalence of levofloxacin-resistant strains, levofloxacin-amoxicillin triple therapy cannot reliably achieve a high eradication rate for second-line treatment of H. pylori infection in most countries now. The present article aims to review current second-line eradication regimens with a per-protocol eradication rate exceeding 85% in most geographic areas. Recently, a novel tetracycline-levofloxacin quadruple therapy consisting of a PPI, bismuth, tetracycline, and levofloxacin for rescue treatment of H. pylori infection has been developed. The new therapy achieved a higher per-protocol eradication rate than levofloxacin-amoxicillin triple treatment in a randomized controlled trial (98% versus 69%). Additionally, the tetracycline-levofloxacin quadruple therapy also exhibits a higher eradication rate than amoxicillin-levofloxacin quadruple therapy. High-dose dual PPI-amoxicillin therapy is another novel second-line treatment for H. pylori infection. The new therapy can achieve an eradication rate of 89% by per-protocol analysis for the second-line treatment in Taiwan. Recently, levofloxacin-based sequential quadruple therapy and potassium-competitive acid blocker have also been applied in the second-line treatment of H. pylori infection. A meta-analysis revealed that a vonoprazan-based regimen has significant superiority over a PPI-based regimen for second-line H. pylori eradication therapy. In conclusion, the eradication rate of levofloxacin-amoxicillin triple therapy is suboptimal in the second-line treatment of H. pylori infection now. Currently, a standard bismuth quadruple therapy (tetracycline-metronidazole quadruple therapy), a tetracycline-levofloxacin quadruple therapy, an amoxicillin-levofloxacin quadruple therapy, a levofloxacin-based sequential quadruple therapy or a high-dose PPI-amoxicillin dual therapy is recommended for the second-line treatment of H. pylori infection.
Background: The eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori infection with empirical therapy has decreased due to increased drug resistance. The latest guidelines recommend genotypic resistance-guided therapy, but its clinical efficacy remains unclear.
Objectives: The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether tailored therapy based on genotypic resistance is superior to empirical therapy for H. pylori infection.
Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing tailored therapy based on genotypic resistance with empirical therapy was performed.
Sources and methods: We retrieved relevant studies from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. The primary outcome was H. pylori eradication rate and the adverse events (AEs) was the secondary outcome. A random-effect model was applied to compare pooled risk ratios (RRs) with related 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: A total of 12 qualified RCTs containing 3940 patients were identified in our systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled eradication rates of tailored therapy based on the detection of genotypic resistance were consistently higher than those in the empirical treatment group, with no statistical significance. In triple therapy, the eradication rate was significantly higher in the tailored group than in the empirical group by intention-to-treat analysis (ITT) and per-protocol analysis (PP) analysis (p < 0.0001, RR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.12-1.29; p < 0.0001, RR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.15-1.25). In quadruple therapy, the eradication rate was higher in the empirical group (p = 0.001, RR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.89-0.97; p = 0.009, RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.92-0.99). And this result was true for both bismuth quadruple therapy (BQT) and non-BQT. Regarding total AEs, the pooled rate was 34% in the tailored group and 37% in the empirical group, and no difference between the two groups was found (p = 0.17, RR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.74-1.06).
Conclusion: In conclusion, tailored therapy based on molecular methods may offer better efficacy than empirical triple therapy, but it may not be superior to empirical quadruple therapy in eradicating H. pylori infection. Larger and more individualized RCTs are needed to aid clinical decision-making.
Registration prospero: CRD42023408688.
Background: In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), frailty is independently associated with mortality and morbidity.
Objectives: This study aimed to extend this work to determine the association between the clinical frailty scale (CFS), handgrip strength (HGS), and malnutrition with IBD-related hospitalizations and surgeries.
Design: IBD patients ⩾18 years of age were prospectively enrolled from two ambulatory care clinics in Alberta, Canada.
Methods: Frailty was defined as a CFS score ⩾4, dynapenia as HGS < 16 kg for females and <27 kg for males, malnutrition using the subjective global assessment (SGA), and the risk of malnutrition using either the abridged patient-generated SGA (abPG-SGA), or the Saskatchewan Inflammatory Bowel Disease Nutrition Risk Tool (SaskIBD-NRT). Logarithm relative hazard graphs and multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for relevant confounders were constructed.
Results: One hundred sixty-one patients (35% ulcerative colitis, 65% Crohn's disease) with a mean age of 42.2 (±15.9) years were followed over a mean period of 43.9 (±10.1) months. Twenty-seven patients were hospitalized, and 13 patients underwent IBD-related surgeries following baseline. While the CFS (aHR 1.34; p = 0.61) and SGA (aHR 0.81; p = 0.69) did not independently predict IBD-related hospitalizations, decreased HGS (aHR 3.96; p = 0.03), increased abPG-SGA score (aHR 1.07; p = 0.03) and a SaskIBD-NRT ⩾ 5 (aHR 4.49; p = 0.02) did. No variable was independently associated with IBD-related surgeries.
Conclusion: HGS, the abPG-SGA, and the SaskIBD-NRT were independently associated with an increased risk of IBD-related hospitalizations. Future studies should aim to validate other frailty assessments in the IBD population in order to better tailor care for all IBD patients.