Category Archives: Pediatric Gastroenterology Intestinal Disorder

How Effective Are PPIs for Eosinophilic Esophagitis?

Posted on by

Emilio J. Laserna‐Mendieta et al. AP&T 2020; https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15957.  Full article link: Efficacy of proton pump inhibitor therapy for eosinophilic oesophagitis in 630 patients: results from the EoE connect registry

“This cross‐sectional study collected data on PPI efficacy from the multicentre EoE CONNECT database.” Overall, 630 patients (76 children) received PPI as initial therapy (n = 600) or after failure to respond to other therapies (n = 30)

Key findings:

  • PPI therapy achieved eosinophil density below 15 eosinophils per high‐power field in 48.8% and a decreased symptom score ≥50% from baseline in 71.0% of patients.
  • More EoE patients with an inflammatory rather than stricturing phenotype accomplished clinico‐histological remission after PPI therapy (OR 3.7; 95% CI, 1.4‐9.5)
  • PPI treatment is more effective in achieving clinico‐histological remission of the disease when used in higher instead of standard or lower doses (50.8% vs 35.8%), and when the duration of therapy is prolonged from 8 to 12 weeks (50.4% vs. 65.2%)

My take: This study confirms previous studies which have generally found that PPIs are effective in 40-50% of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis.  Higher doses of PPIs are needed to achieve the highest response rates.

“Bar chart for histological (A) and symptomatic (B) responses for proton pump inhibitor (PPI) mono‐therapy to induce and maintain remission in patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis. For induction of remission, patients were classified according to the PPI dosage prescribed: high dose was double dosage or higher, and low dose was standard dosage or lower. For maintenance therapy, only patients with dosage reduction from that used for induction were included. eos/hpf: eosinophils per high power field”

Related blog posts:

IBD Update -August 2020

Posted on by

S Jansson et al JPGN 2020; 71: 40-5. This retrospective study (1998-2008) showed that pediatric patients with extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) had more severe IBD course than patients with IBD without an EIM.  EIM often had a temporal relationship with a relapse of IBD as well. Of 333 patients, 14 had an EIM at diagnosis and 47 had an EIM develop during followup.

PA Olivera, JS Lasa et al. Gastroenterol 2020; 158: 1554-73. This systematic review and meta-analysis ultimately included 82 studies with 66,159 patients (including those with IBD and other immune-mediated diseases) exposed to a JAK inhibitor; two-thirds of studies were randomized controlled trials.  Key findings:

  • Incidence rates of serious infections, herpes zoster infection, malignancy, and major cardiovascular events were 2.81, 2.67, 0.89, and 0.48 per 100 person year respectively. After meta-analysis, the authors conclude that there is an increased risk of herpes zoster (RR 1.57), but all other adverse events were not increased among patients treated with JAK inhibitors
  • Mortality was not increased in those receiving JAK inhibitors compared to placebo

Loebenstein, JD Schulberg. Gastroenterol 2020; 158: 2069-71.  This case report describes a successful alternative anti-TNF rechallenge after infliximab induced Lupus in Crohn’s disease.  The authors note that in a previous study, 14 of 20 IBD patents with drug-induced lupus secondary to an anti-TNF agent were rechallenged with an alternative anti-TNF agent and 13/14 tolerated rechallenge without recurrent lupus (Inflamm Bowel Dise 2013; 19: 2778-86).

These images show active disease prior to intervention. The article provides f/u images showing endoscopic remission after re-starting a different anti-TNF agent.

Lingering Histologic Changes with Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Remission, Plus One

Posted on by

A recent study (KA Whelan et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020; 18: 1475-82) examined esophageal histology in 243 patients (mean age 16.9 years) in 3 groups: active eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), inactive EoE (<15 eos/hpf), and a control non-EoE group.

Key findings:

Basal cell hyperplasia and spongiosis were present in 43 (29%) and 109 (74%) respectively of patients with inactive EoE. In comparison, these findings were present in 98% and 100% respectively of those with active EoE and in 6% and 33% of non-EoE patients

My take: This study provides some insight into the idea that esophageal damage may be ongoing in the absence of eosinophils.  These histologic findings could provide part of the reasons for symptoms in those who have had resolution of esophageal eosinophilia.

Related study: ES Dellon et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020; 18: 1483-92. This study showed rapid recurrence of eosinophilic esophagitis after discontinuation of topical steroids.  33/58  (57%) had symptom recurrence before 1 year (median time 244 for symptoms). At time of symptom recurrence, 78% had histologic relapse (≥15 eos/hpf).

Related blog posts:

Briefly Noted: Esophageal Stricture Dilatations

Posted on by

SJ Clark et al. JPGN 2020; 71: e1-e5. Examining the “Rule of 3” for Esophageal Dilations in Pediatric Stricture Patients.  In this retrospective study with 284 patients and 1384 balloon dilatations, the authors examined the perforation rate compared to the delta dilation diameter (ΔDD).  They note that the “rule of 3” is a 40-year-old expert opinion that suggests dilating an esophageal stricture more than 3 mm is unsafe. In this cohort, the perforation rate was 1.66% overall; there were 8 perforations in 1075 dilations with ΔDD ≤5 mm (0.7%) and 15 perforations in 309 dilations with ΔDD >5 mm (4.9%). The authors indicate that dilatations ≤5 mm may be acceptable.

Solitary Rectal Ulcer Syndrome: How Often is It Solitary? How Often is There an Ulcer?

Posted on by

A recent restrospective review of 140 pediatric cases (median age 12 years) of solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS) (U Poddar et al. JPGN 2020; 71: 29-33) highlights the fact that in many, there are multiple ulcerations and in some there are none.

Key findings:

  • Most had dsynergic defecation with prolonged sitting on the toilet (94%), excessive straining (98%), feeling of incomplete evacuation (93%) or “rectal digitation” (51%)
  • Rectal bleeding was presenting feature in 94%
  • Colonoscopy showed in 72% (n=101); a single ulcer was noted in (60%) (n=84)  -thus in those with an ulcer, 83% were solitary.
  • Of the 113 with adequate followup, 63% had clinical improvement and healing of ulcer was documented in 36/82 (44%)
  • The most common treatment was hydrocortisone enema with bulk laxative (n=73) with “improvement” in 52, “better” in 16, and no response in 5 (8.2%).  Other frequent treatments: sulfasalazine enema with bulk laxative (n=12), and bulk laxative alone (n=22)
  • Most children (95/140) were older than 10 years; only 2 were ≤5 years

My take: Asking carefully about dysnergic bowel habits will make this diagnosis much easier.  Many children with SRUS have erythema and not a solitary ulcer; in addition, lesions can be ulcerative or polypoid.

Related blog post: One more cause of rectal bleeding

Does The Degree of Villous Atrophy Affect Long-Term Outcomes with Celiac Disease? Plus One

Posted on by

S Kroger et al. JPGN 2020; 71: 71-7.  This study, conducted from 1966-2014, examined long-term outcomes of individuals diagnosed with celiac disease in childhood. This study examined 906 children and sent questionnaires to 503 adults (212 responded) who were diagnosed in childhood.

Key findings:

  • More recent diagnosis (after 2006) has been associated with children having milder lesions, more often diagnosis due to screening (rather than symptoms) 30% vs. 25%, less anemia (16% vs 21%), less growth disturbances (22% vs. 36%), and lower TTG-2 titers (mean 64 U/L vs 120 U/L.
  • Among adults completing questionnaire, severity of villous atrophy at childhood diagnosis did not predict complications, persistent symptoms, quality of life, or adherence with glute-free diet

RV Lopez et al. JPGN 2020; 71: 59-63. Influence of the 2012 European Guidelines in Diagnosis and Follow-up of Coeliac Children With Selective IgA Deficiency. This study showed that the guidelines were used incorrectly for individuals with selective IgA deficiency, using a 10-fold elevation of TTG IgG instead of TTG IgA. The associated editorial (pg 2 by P Gillett) recommends “we should perform endoscopy in all sIgAD patients.”  In addition, this population may merit followup endoscopy at much lower threshold due to difficulty using serology for follow-up.

My take: Children with severe villous atrophy due to celiac disease can respond fully to a gluten-free diet.  In the small subset of individuals with selective IgA deficiency, a no-biopsy diagnosis is not recommended.

Related blog posts:

“Health Insurance Is Broken”

Posted on by

From The Onion:

Almost every Sunday, I spend hours reading the local AJC and the NY Times — a great way to start the week.

On July 5th, the NY Times review section discussed the topic of ‘The Economy We Need.’ The article discussed rising problems with wealth inequity and associated problems including higher mortality rates.  The first article states that “if income had kept pace with overall economic growth since 1970, Americans in the bottom 90 percent of the income distribution would be making an extra $12,000 per year, on average.”

The greater inequities are the direct result of policy changes and can be changed. The subsequent articles detail myriad issues from tax policy that bolster wealth inequality (eg. lower inheritance taxes), minimum wage which requires many to rely on government assistance, legacy admissions to elite colleges, corporation stock buybacks (which come at the expense of lower benefits/wages), policies that discourage unions, and corporations that have stopped profit sharing (except for the highest-paid executives).

The article with the most relevance for health care providers: NY Times: “Health Insurance Is Broken” by Jeneen Interlandi. Link to online version: Employer-Based Health Care, Meet Massive Unemployment

Key points:

  • “The nation spends an average of $3.5 trillion on health care –more than Japan, Germany, France, China, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Spain, and Australia combined — ant still loses more people to preventable and treatable medical conditions than any of those countries do…America has created the most expensive, least effective health care system in the modern world.”
  • The problem has deep roots.  One of the issues with the cost, at least historically, has been “price insensitivity.”  “If the insurer is paying, nobody looks at the bill.”…Hospitals ramped up equipment purchases, workforces, specialty clinics and “passed [the price hikes] from hospitals to insurers to customers.”‘
  • “Employer-based insurance is heavily subsidized by the federal government …[and] are not much different than the ones granted to low-income Americans through Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.”
  • “The country will have to stop making employers the sole source of health care for so many people.”  Alternatives could include single-payer system or ‘public option.’

My take: The U.S. health care system costs too much and has gaping problems with lack of coverage and inequities. These problems have worsened with the current pandemic.

Related article: NY Times:  The U.S. Is Lagging Behind Many Rich Countries. These Charts Show Why.

Related blog posts:

Probiotics in Preemies: Lifesaving Therapy

Posted on by

Lots of studies have indicated that probiotics may be beneficial in premature newborns; the problem is that there are currently no FDA-approved probiotics for preterm infants. The use of probiotics as a non-regulated FDA product leads to the potential risk of contamination due to inconsistent quality control as well as variability in the strains and concentrations.  The risks are not inconsequential as there has been a report of 29-week infant who died from mucormycosis due to probiotic contamination with mold.

Despite the potential problems with probiotics in this population, their usage is increasing as described in a recent multicenter retrospective cohort study (KD Gray et al. J Pediatr 2020; 222: 59-64) which took place between 1997-2016 with 78,076 infants (23-29 weeks gestational age) in 289 NICUs.

Key findings

  • 3626 (4.6%) received probiotics
  • Probiotic use increased over the study period (>10% in 2015 & 2016)
  • By matching 2178 infants who received probiotics with 33,807 without probiotics, the authors determined that those received probiotics had a decrease likelihood of necrotizing enterocolitis (OR 0.62) and death (OR 0.52).  The authors observed an increase in Candida infection (OR 2.23); though, this is an infrequent infection and the absolute difference in risk was <1%
  • Limitations: “similar to many previous studies, there was great variation in probiotic products and organisms, as well as a lack of dosing information, which made it unclear which product, organism, or dose might be most effective.”  Also, other contributing factors like consumption of breastmilk and antibiotic exposure are not detailed in this report.

My take: Probiotics could be life-saving for premature infants. It would be nice if we could find out which strains work and which ones do not as well as to assure safe manufacturing processes.

Related blog posts:

More Iron Infusions, Less Blood Transfusions in Kids with Inflammatory Bowel Disease; COVID-19 Transmission in Children

Posted on by

Briefly noted: AE Jacobson-Kelly et al. J Pediatr 2020; 222: 141-5. In this retrospective multicenter cohort study (2012-2018), the authors used the Pediatric Health Information System administrative database (n= 8007 with 28 260 admissions, <21 yrs of age). Key findings:

  • Anemia was documented in 29.8% of admissions.  IV iron was given in 6.3% of admissions and blood transfusions in 7.4%
  • A steady increase in the proportion of IBD admissions received IV iron, from 3.5% in 2012 to 10.4% in 2018 ( P < .0001), and the proportion of admissions with red cell transfusions decreased over time from 9.4% to 4.4% ( P < .0001).

Related blog posts:

 

Myth or Fact: Joint Hypermobility is Related to Pediatric Functional Abdominal Pain & Dr. Roy Link

Posted on by

According to a recent study (RJ Shulman et al. J Pediatri 2020; 222: 134-40), the prevalence of joint hypermobility does NOT differ in children with irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain, or healthy control children.

Methods (to reach this conclusion):

  • Children (median age ~9.5 years) with irritable bowel syndrome (n=109), functional abdominal pain (n=31), and healthy controls (n=69) completed a prospective 2-week pain and stooling diaries.  In addition, children and parents reported on measures of anxiety, depression, and somatization. Children were recruited from both primary care and tertiary care settings
  • Joint hypermobility was determined using Beighton criteria using a goniometer and examined cutoffs at both ≥4 or ≥6).

Key findings:

  • Beighton scores were similar between the groups, as was the proportion with joint hypermobility.  Beighton scores were not related to abdominal pain or stooling characteristics.
  • Beighton score ≥4: IBS 35%, FAP 36%, healthy controls 36%.
  • Beighton score ≥6: IBS 12%, FAP 13%, healthy controls 9%.
  • Children reported depression more frequently in those with Beighton scores ≥6 and somatization was greater in those with a score ≥4.

Discussion:

  • “It is well-recognized that patients with joint hypermobility syndromes (eg, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan) commonly have GI symptoms.” However, joint hypermobility is common —in this study’s healthy control group 36% had a score ≥4 and 9% had a score ≥6.
  • This study is in agreement with a school-based study (n=136) (M Saps et al. JPGN 2018; 66: 387-90).
  • Limitations: This study population had a median age of ~9.5 years; thus, these findings need to be determined in an older children

My take: There does not appear to be an increased risk of functional GI disorders in children with joint hypermobility. Thus, looking for joint laxity/hypermobility in children with abdominal pain is not needed.

Related blog posts:

Also, a link to Dr. Roy (Benaroch).  Roy is an Atlanta pediatrician and he explains, with the help of Batman and Luigi, the term ‘index’ case and when one is considered exposed: Dr. Roy Covid Pathway