AGA Guideline on Pouchitis Management

Key recommendations

  • AGA recommends metronidazole and/or ciprofloxacin as preferred treatment of pouchitis with duration of treatment 2-4 weeks.
  • For Crohn’s-like disease of the pouch, AGA guideline recommends using either ileal-release budesonide or advanced immunosuppressive agents (eg. Biological therapies and small molecule therapies)
  • “In patients with cuffitis, topical therapies should be the first-line therapy, such as mesalamine suppositories, corticosteroid suppositories, or corticosteroid ointment applied directly to the cuff. Biological therapies and small molecule therapies are recommended in refractory cases

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Chicago Classification of J Pouch Outcomes

S Akiyama et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2021.02.010 Endoscopic Phenotype of the J Pouch in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A New Classification for Pouch Outcomes

The authors retrospectively reviewed 1359 pouchoscopies and classified them into 7 main pouch phenotypes: (1) normal, (2) afferent limb involvement, (3) inlet involvement, (4) diffuse, (5) focal inflammation of the pouch body, (6) cuffitis, and (7) pouch with fistulas noted 6 months after ileostomy takedown.

Key finding: Diffuse inflammation was associated independently with pouch excision (hazard ratio, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.34–5.41; P = .005).

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