Publications by authors named "Cathy Lu"

Background: Historically, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been criticized for being poorly generalizable to patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) evaluated in routine care. We aimed to evaluate the proportion of patients with UC starting an advanced therapy who would be eligible to participate in phase 3 registrational UC RCTs.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of UC patients starting vedolizumab, ustekinumab, or tofacitinib at 2 IBD clinics at the University of Calgary.

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Background: Diagnostic imaging using CT enterography, magnetic resonance enterography, and intestinal ultrasound are important tools in evaluating stricturing Crohn's disease. Definitions of strictures have been developed for CT enterography and magnetic resonance enterography. However, expert recommendations for definitions and treatment response of strictures on intestinal ultrasound are not available.

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Introduction: Despite a growing armamentarium of medical therapies for ulcerative colitis, colectomy remains an important therapeutic option. To better inform shared decision-making about surgery, we estimated the contemporary risk of mortality after colectomy.

Methods: Mortality rates were estimated using the National Inpatient Sample (2016-2020).

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Fibrostenosis of the small bowel is common in patients with Crohn's disease. No consensus recommendations on definition, diagnosis and management in clinical practice are currently available. In this Consensus Statement, we present a clinical practice RAND/UCLA appropriateness study on the definition, diagnosis and clinical management of fibrostenosing Crohn's disease.

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Article Synopsis
  • Current methods for assessing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often invasive or inaccurate, highlighting the need for non-invasive biomarkers, particularly blood extracellular matrix (ECM) markers.
  • A systematic review identified 31 ECM markers related to IBD, with Collagen III being the most studied; markers C3M and PRO-C3 are linked to disease activity, while C5M and PRO-C5 showed high diagnostic accuracy for IBD.
  • Despite promising connections between ECM markers and IBD, the studies lacked standardized endpoints and histological assessment, suggesting that further rigorous research is needed to validate these biomarkers for clinical use.*
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Background: Stricturing Crohn's disease (CD) occurs most commonly in the terminal ileum and poses a clinical problem. Cross-sectional imaging modalities such as intestinal ultrasound (IUS), computed tomography enterography (CTE), and magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) allow for assessment of the entire bowel wall and associated peri-enteric findings. Radiologic definitions of strictures have been developed for CTE and MRE; their reliability and responsiveness are being evaluated in index development programs.

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Background: Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a chronic liver disease associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare utilization. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies of the incidence and prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Methods: Medline and Embase were systematically searched to identify population-based studies of a defined geographic area and reported the incidence or prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis in the general population.

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Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) require accessible, timely, and noninvasive strategies to monitor disease. The aim was to assess the integration of intestinal ultrasound (IUS) on decision-making and endoscopy utilization in a standardized care pathway.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter, international, observational cohort study included patients seen within a centralized model for IBD care was conducted during the COVID pandemic.

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Objectives: To investigate how psychological and behavioural factors change from the first to the last half of pregnancy.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we assessed the changes in psychological and behavioural factors across 10 domains among 445 women (mean age = 30.9 years) in Ontario, Canada.

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Article Synopsis
  • * JAK1 inhibitors, like upadacitinib, are being explored as treatments for Crohn's disease and have shown promise in clinical trials.
  • * A case report highlights a 23-year-old man with Crohn's disease who experienced significant hair regrowth from alopecia universalis after 7 months on upadacitinib, suggesting it may effectively treat both conditions simultaneously.
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Background: Management of Crohn's disease (CD) using dietary interventions has become an area of increased research interest. There is a lack of specific research exploring if diet and nutrition interventions are beneficial in patients with strictures, as current dietary recommendations in fibrostenotic CD are often based on clinical judgment. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impact of dietary interventions in fibrostenotic CD on medical and surgical outcomes.

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Background: Effective medical therapies for patients with microscopic colitis (MC) who fail budesonide are lacking. However, conducting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in MC has been challenging due to small sample sizes. Understanding placebo responses can help inform more efficient future trials.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has reduced access to endoscopy and imaging. Safe alternatives, available at the bedside, are needed for accurate, non-invasive strategies to evaluate disease activity. The aim of this study is to establish the impact of clinic-based bedside intestinal ultrasound (IUS) on decision making, reduction in reliance on endoscopy and short-term healthcare utilization.

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Strictures in Crohn's disease (CD) are a hallmark of long-standing intestinal damage, brought about by inflammatory and non-inflammatory pathways. Understanding the complex pathophysiology related to inflammatory infiltrates, extracellular matrix deposition, as well as muscular hyperplasia is crucial to produce high-quality scoring indices for assessing CD strictures. In addition, cross-sectional imaging modalities are the primary tool for diagnosis and follow-up of strictures, especially with the initiation of anti-fibrotic therapy clinical trials.

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Nitro-functionality, with a large deficit of negative charge, embraces biological importance and has proven its therapeutic essence even in chemotherapy. Functionally, with its strong electron-withdrawing capability, nitro can manipulate the electron density of organic moieties and regulates cellular-biochemical reactions. However, the chemistry of nitro-functionality to introduce physiologically relevant macroscopic properties from the molecular skeleton is unknown.

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Objective: Examine how changes in sleep duration, objectively measured by activity trackers, impact weight gain in incoming college freshman. Incoming college freshmen, age ≥ 18. We measured weight and daily sleep duration before college entry and through the 1st college quarter.

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Background And Aims: No consensus exists on defining intestinal ultrasound response, transmural healing, or transmural remission in inflammatory bowel disease, nor clear guidance for optimal timing of assessment during treatment. This systematic review and expert consensus study aimed to define such recommendations, along with key parameters included in response reporting.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched from inception to July 26, 2021, using pre-defined terms.

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Background: Fibrocytes are hematopoietic cells with features of mesenchymal cells found in the circulation and inflammatory sites implicated in promoting fibrosis in many fibroinflammatory diseases. However, their role(s) in the development of intestinal fibrosis is poorly understood. Here, we investigated a potential role of fibrocytes in the development of fibrosis in Crohn's disease (CD) and sought factors that may impact their development and function.

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Objective: This study aimed to understand physical, knowledge, psychological, and lifestyle factors associated with planned excess gestational weight gain (GWG), a strong and potentially modifiable predictor of actual excess GWG, which contributes to maternal and child obesity along with other adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study where women completed a questionnaire in early pregnancy. Women were asked to report their planned GWG, which was then categorized as above, within, or below the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines.

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Background And Aims: Intestinal strictures are a common complication of Crohn's disease (CD). Biomarkers of intestinal strictures would assist in their prediction, diagnosis, and monitoring. Herein we provide a comprehensive systematic review of studies assessing biomarkers that may predict or diagnose CD-associated strictures.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers aimed to validate and update a prediction model for relapse risk in Crohn's disease patients after stopping anti-TNF therapy, stemming from a previous trial (STORI).
  • The study analyzed data from 1317 patients across 14 studies, finding a 38% relapse rate within a year after treatment cessation, but the original prediction model performed poorly (C-statistic of 0.51).
  • The updated model slightly improved the ability to predict relapses (C-statistic of 0.59) and identified key factors such as clinical symptoms, age at diagnosis, smoking, and C-reactive protein levels that influenced relapse risk.
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Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) is common and adversely affects both mothers and offspring, including increasing the risk of maternal and childhood obesity. GWG is typically examined categorically, with women grouped into categories of those who gain above, within, and below guideline recommendations. Examining GWG as a continuous variable, rather than categorically, allows for a consideration of GWG at a finer level of detail, increasing precision.

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Background: Intestinal ultrasound [IUS] is a promising and non-invasive cross-sectional imaging modality in the diagnosis and monitoring of ulcerative colitis [UC]. Unlike endoscopy, where standardized scoring for evaluation of disease activity is widely used, scoring for UC with IUS is currently unavailable. Therefore, we conducted a study to assess the reliability of IUS in UC among expert sonographists in order to identify robust parameters.

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