Category Archives: inflammatory bowel disease

Highlights in IBD from Two 2019 Meetings: American College of Gastroenterology and United European Gastroenterology Week

Posted on by
Reply

Gastroenterology & Hepatology. December 2019 – Volume 15, Issue 12, Supplement 5

Excerpts from William Sandborn Commentary which are at the end of this supplement along with references:

Vedolizumab

In the VARSITY study (An Efficacy and Safety Study of Vedolizumab Intravenous [IV] Compared to Adalimumab Subcutaneous [SC] in Participants With Ulcerative Colitis), 769 patients with ulcerative colitis were randomized to a year of therapy with either adalimumab at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved dose or vedolizumab at the FDA-approved dose…This shows that the idea that vedolizumab (and anti-integrin therapy) is slower-acting than anti-TNF therapy is not correct, and that both of these classes of drugs can work fairly quickly in a number of patients.

Dr Brian Bressler and colleagues looked at the effectiveness of anti-TNF therapy in the real world when used second line after failing first-line biologic therapy with vedolizumab…The study conducted by Dr Bressler and colleagues, which included both Crohn’s disease patients and ulcerative colitis patients, found that the results were fairly similar whether patients received first-line biologic therapy with an anti-TNF agent or whether patients received first-line therapy with vedolizumab… It is generally thought that vedolizumab is a safer therapy than anti-TNF therapy, so with the finding from this study, a reasonable treatment approach could be to start with vedolizumab and see if it works…

Dr Christina Chambers and colleagues identified outcomes for pregnancy in 223 women, 53 of whom received vedolizumab. The researchers found that there were no major structural birth defects reported in the vedolizumab group, compared to 5.7% and 5.3% in the disease-matched group and healthy control group, respectively. Thus, there seemed to be no signal for an increased malformation risk in patients who were undergoing treatment with vedolizumab and became pregnant.

Adalimumab

The SERENE trials are a set of head-to-head trials, one for ulcerative colitis and one for Crohn’s disease, comparing standard-dose adalimumab to a more intensive induction regimen of adalimumab…

For both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, the SERENE trials showed that the current FDA-approved dosing regimen is effective and that more intensive induction therapy does not improve outcomes over time. Thus, there is no utility in giving high induction doses. 

Tofacitinib

Over 1000 patients who had been treated with tofacitinib were examined…during induction and maintenance of the placebo-controlled portion of the tofacitinib clinical trials, there were a total of 5 deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli events. All 5 occurred in patients who were receiving placebo; none of these events occurred in patients who were receiving tofacitinib…[And] There was a total of 5 deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli events during this long-term extension…Looking at the ulcerative colitis clinical trial data that I presented, it is somewhat reassuring that we did not see the same elevation in risk for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli that was seen in the high-risk rheumatoid arthritis patient population.

Mont Royal (Montreal)

Development of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Posted on by
Reply

A recent study (A Chandrakumar et al. J Pediatr 2019; 215: 144-51) followed 190 children with inflammatory bowel disease from 2011 to 2018 in a longitudinal population-based cohort in Manitoba and examined the development of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).  The diagnosis of PSC was made on discretion of the treating physician; thus, only a subset of patients underwent extensive evaluations for PSC.

Key findings:

  • 9 developed PSC-UC (9/95) and overall 11 developed PSC-IBD (11/190)
  • Among children with PSC-UC, 8 had high GGT (>50) at baseline and only 1 had a normal GGT at baseline.
  • All UC patients who developed PSC were diagnosed withing 6 months of their UC diagnosis.
  • At baseline, 22 patients with UC had an elevated GGT and 73 had a normal GGT.  Thus, about one-third of patients with an elevated GGT developed PSC (possibly more as all patients were not subjected to extensive testing)

My view: This study reinforces two concepts: 1) GGT is valuable as a screening test 2) PSC (often asymptomatic) is fairly common in UC and needs to be considered especially in the first year of diagnosis.  What this study does not do is help us figure out what should be done about children with asymptomatic PSC as there are no proven therapies.

Related blog posts:

More Pics from P’tit Train du Nord Linear Park

A Little More Data on Antibiotic Cocktail for Pediatric Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis

Posted on by
Reply

A recent prospective study (D Turner et al. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, izz298, https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izz298) with 28 children found improvement in 5-day PUCAI scores in patients who received quadruple antibiotics in combination with IV corticosteroids compared to those who received IV corticosteroids alone.

Link: Antibiotic Cocktail for Pediatric Acute Severe Colitis and the Microbiome: The PRASCO Randomized Controlled Trial

Methods:

Hospitalized children with ASC (pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index [PUCAI] ≥65) were randomized into 2 arms: the first received antibiotics in addition to IVCS (amoxicillin, vancomycin, metronidazole, doxycycline/ciprofloxacin [IVCS+AB]), whereas the other received only IVCS for 14 days. The primary outcome was disease activity (PUCAI) at day 5. Microbiome was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene and metagenome.My t

Results

Twenty-eight children were included: 16 in the AB + IVCS arm and 12 in the IVCS arm (mean age 13.9 ± 4.1 years and 23 [82%] with extensive colitis). The mean day-5 PUCAI was 25 ± 16.7 vs 40.4 ± 20.4, respectively (P = 0.037). Only 3 and 2 children, respectively, required colectomy during 1-year follow-up (P = 0.89). Microbiome data at time of admission were analyzed for 25 children, of whom 17 (68%) had a predominant bacterial species (>33% abundance); response was not associated with the specific species, whereas decreased microbiome

My take: Combination antibiotic therapy appears to improve disease activity in children with acute severe ulcerative colitis.  More and larger studies are needed to determine whether this is associated with improved long-term outcomes as well as which antimicrobials are optimal.

Related blog posts -ASUC:

Related blog posts -Calprotectin:

Disclaimer: This blog, gutsandgrowth, assumes no responsibility for any use or operation of any method, product, instruction, concept or idea contained in the material herein or for any injury or damage to persons or property (whether products liability, negligence or otherwise) resulting from such use or operation. These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician.  Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the gutsandgrowth blog cautions that independent verification should be made of diagnosis and drug dosages. The reader is solely responsible for the conduct of any suggested test or procedure.  This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition

Low FODMAPs Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Posted on by
Reply

A recent small study (SR Cox et al. Gastroenterology 2019: doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2019.09.024. [Epub ahead of print]) examined the use of a low-FODMAP diet to reduce symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease.

A summary of the study in GI & Hepatology News: Low-FODMAP diet eases gut symptoms in IBD

An excerpt:

While previous research has shown that a low-FODMAP diet can relieve gut symptoms such as swelling and flatulence in people with irritable bowel syndrome, the diet has been little studied in IBD patients, for whom gut symptoms often persist even in the absence of gastrointestinal inflammation.

In a study published in Gastroenterology, Selina Cox, MD, of King’s College, London, and colleagues randomized 52 people with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease with persistent gut symptoms but without active inflammation to 4 weeks on a low-FODMAP diet (n = 27) or a control diet comprising sham dietary advice (n = 25).

At 4 weeks, Dr. Cox and her colleagues reported more patients on the low-FODMAP diet reported “adequate” relief of gut symptoms (52% vs. 16%, P = .007), and saw slight improvements in health-related quality of life scores, compared with the control group. Patient-reported flatulence and bloating were significantly lower in the treatment group, while few other symptom-specific differences were seen between groups…

There were no significant between-group differences in bacterial diversity or in biomarkers of inflammation.

My take: A low-FODMAP diet may help reduce symptoms but there is no indication that this diet is an effective treatment to reduce complications or reduce inflammation for patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.  In addition, assistance from a dietician is recommended when implementing a low-FODMAP diet.

Related Blog Posts:

AGA website for patient information: Low FODMAPs diet

Quebec City

 

Disclaimer: This blog, gutsandgrowth, assumes no responsibility for any use or operation of any method, product, instruction, concept or idea contained in the material herein or for any injury or damage to persons or property (whether products liability, negligence or otherwise) resulting from such use or operation. These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician.  Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the gutsandgrowth blog cautions that independent verification should be made of diagnosis and drug dosages. The reader is solely responsible for the conduct of any suggested test or procedure.  This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition

 

Year in Review: My Favorite 2019 Posts

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday, I listed the posts with the most views.  The posts below were the ones I like the most.

General/General Health:

Nutrition:

Liver:

Endoscopy:

Intestinal Disorders:

 

Disclaimer: This blog, gutsandgrowth, assumes no responsibility for any use or operation of any method, product, instruction, concept or idea contained in the material herein or for any injury or damage to persons or property (whether products liability, negligence or otherwise) resulting from such use or operation. These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician.  Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the gutsandgrowth blog cautions that independent verification should be made of diagnosis and drug dosages. The reader is solely responsible for the conduct of any suggested test or procedure.  This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition.

 

Most Popular Posts of 2019

Posted on by
Reply

The following are the most viewed posts from the past year:

Wishing friends, family and colleagues a healthy and happy New Year.

Morning in Sandy Springs, GA