Tag Archives: proctitis

IBD Short Takes -Fall 2017

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From ImproveCareNow: Real-World Experience with Adalimumab

An excerpt:

A total of 174 children and adolescents were treated with adalimumab as their first anti-TNF therapy…The mean age at the time of Crohn’s disease diagnosis was 13 years and, on average, they started adalimumab at 14.5 years of age…

  • At 3 months after adalimumab was started, all 174 were still on the medication, and 69-71% were in steroid-free remission
  • At 6 months after adalimumab was started, of the 174 who had a clinic visit, 95% were still on the medication, and 75-77% were in steroid-free remission
  • At 12 months after adalimumab was started, of the 154 who had a clinic visit, 94% were still on the medication, and 79-80% were in steroid-free remission
  • At 24 months after adalimumab was started, of the 71 who had a clinic visit, 97% were still on the medication, and 91-94% were in steroid-free remission
  • At 36 months after adalimumab was started, of the 39 who had a clinic visit, 80-86% were still on the medication, and 81-86% were in steroid-free remission

No positive or negative effect on remission was seen with concomitant immunomodulator therapy. However, the number of patients studied during the retrospective analysis is too small to detect all but the greatest impact of this approach.

EC Maxwell et al. JPGN 2017; 65: 299-305  CHOP experience with diverting ileostomy for severe IBD (2000-2014).

  • In this retrospective study, a diverting ileostomy in 24 patients had improvement: 71% –>22% on chronic steroids, improved growth, hemoglobin, blood transfusion and hospitalization.
  • 10 patients underwent subsequent colectomy, 7 had successful reanastomosis, and 7 remain diverted.
  • Diversion allowed a definitive diagnosis in 7 subjects (initially 13 patients were considered IBD-U).
  • Surgical complications were common (n=13 in 7 subjects) and included stoma obstruction, stoma prolapse, and resection of ischemic bowel.
  • One notable feature regarding this cohort was that 50% were 5 or younger when diagnosed with IBD.
  • The authors conclude that a diverting ileostomy can induce clinical stability and allow time to clarify diagnosis.

A Assa et al. JPGN 2017; 65: 293-98. In this study involving findings from 234 patients extracted from the ImageKids database (prospective multicenter cohort), the authors found that pediatric patients with perianal Crohn’s disease have a greater inflammatory burden; however, this was driven mainly by those who had fistulizing disease.

L Lian et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2017; 15: 1226-31. This retrospective study from the Cleveland Clinic compared outcomes of endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) (n=176) or surgery (n=131) for Crohn’s disease-related strictures (1998-2013). Patients who had EBD had an “average time to surgery delayed by 6.45 years.” Immediate success rate for EBD was 91.3%; the perforation rate was 1.1%.. Ultimately, 52% of patients who had EBD required surgery.  Earlier surgery lowered the risk of further surgery but also was associated with significant perioperative complications. In the operative group, 8.8% of patients experienced complications, mainly intra-abdominal abscesses and enterocutaneous fistula. Thus, in the right hands and with careful selection, EBD may be useful.

I Lawrance et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2017; 15: 1248-55. This study reported the results of 11 patients who received rectal tacrolimus for resistant ulcerative proctitis. Dosing: The concentration of tacrolimus was 0.5 mg/mL and 3 mL was administered twice a day.Clinical response, using the Mayo Clinic score, was achieved in 73% of tacrolimus subjects compared with 10% (n=1) of placebo-treated subjects.  Mucosal healing at week 8 was noted in 73% of tacrolimus-treated patients, as well.

Soapes Creek Trail

How to Incorporate Budesonide Foam into UC Treatment Algorithm

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A recent study (Sandborn WJ, et al. Gastroenterol 2015; 148: 740-50, editorial 701-4) shows that budesonide foam can be helpful for patients with ulcerative proctitis and ulcerative proctosigmoiditis.

Design: Two identical randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials examined the use of budesonide foam in 546 patients with mild to moderate ulcerative proctitis or ulcerative proctosigmoiditis.  Patients had at least 5 cm of involved mucosa but no more than 40 cm. Dosing: 2 mg/25 mL twice daily for 2 weeks, then once daily for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint of remission was defined as an endoscopy subscore of ≤1, rectal bleeding subscore of 0, and improvement or no change from baseline in stool frequency subscore of the Mayo score. It is noted that about 90% of patients had moderate Mayo endoscopy subscore at baseline.

Key findings:

  • Combining the results of the studies, 41.2% achieved the primary end point of remission at the end of 6 weeks, compared with 24.0% of placebo patients.
  • There were 10 patients (3.7%) with low morning cortisol (compared with 0.7% of placebo-treated patients) and 14% who had abnormal ACTH testing at 6 weeks (compared with 4% of placebo-treated patients), though there no reported signs/symptoms of adrenal suppression present.

The associated editorial suggests that budesonide could be implemented in patients who did not respond to 5-ASA topical therapy (suppository for proctitis and enema for proctosigmoiditis).  In addition, the editorial questions whether a single night-time administration may be more effective by maximizing adherence.

Bottomline: Budesonide foam was superior to placebo in this study and may eliminate the need for systemic steroid use.  As the editorial suggests, 5-ASA topical therapy likely should be considered as first-line treatment.

Related blog post: Budesonide for Ulcerative Colitis