Publications by authors named "Jean Paul Achkar"

Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the relationship between the type of surgical approach (primary anastomosis vs. intended temporary diversion) and the risk of recurrence in patients with Crohn's disease after surgery.
  • The research involved 793 Crohn's disease patients over a median follow-up of 44 months, revealing a high postoperative recurrence rate of 83.3%.
  • It also analyzes the impact of timing for biologic treatment on recurrence, specifically in patients who underwent temporary diversion, highlighting factors such as sex, disease characteristics, and previous treatment history that influenced outcomes.
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Since its release in 2022, Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) became the most rapidly expanding consumer software application in history, and its role in medicine is underscored by its potential to enhance patient education and physician-patient communication. Previous studies in gastroenterology and hepatology have focused primarily on the earlier Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) model, with none investigating ChatGPT's ability to generate supportive references for its responses, or its applicability as a physician educational tool. Our study evaluated the accuracy of the more recent ChatGPT, powered by GPT-4, in addressing frequently asked questions by patients on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colonoscopy and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, questions on CRC screening from a physician perspective, and reference generation and suitability.

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Studies report favorable efficacy and safety profiles of ustekinumab (UST) and vedolizumab (VDZ) in Crohn's disease (CD), but effectiveness and safety data in elderly patients with CD is lacking. We retrospectively analyzed 78 elderly patients (39 each UST and VDZ) and found that patients on UST and VDZ experienced similar rates of clinical response, remission and mucosal healing despite high proportion of prior biologic exposure. Both UST and VDZ appear to be effective and safe in this at-risk CD population.

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Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a debilitating skin condition often accompanied by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Strikingly, ~40% of patients that present with PG have underlying IBD, suggesting shared but unknown mechanisms of pathogenesis. Impeding the development of effective treatments for PG is the absence of an animal model that exhibits features of both skin and gut manifestations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers aimed to identify ulcerative colitis (UC) patients at risk for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), as PSC impacts UC outcomes.
  • A retrospective study analyzed data from multiple institutions, assessing various genetic and clinical predictors to evaluate the risk of developing PSC among UC patients.
  • Results indicated that certain genetic markers significantly increased the risk of PSC and that the study's model showed strong accuracy, potentially aiding in early identification and management of at-risk patients.
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Background: Approximately 30% of Crohn's disease-related perianal fistulas heal in the adult population with conventional medical and surgical interventions. This healing rate remains unknown in pediatric patients.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the healing rate of pediatric perianal Crohn's fistulas and identify factors associated with healing.

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Background: Postoperative recurrence [POR] of Crohn's disease following ileocolonic resection is common. The impact of immediate postoperative intra-abdominal septic complications [IASC] on endoscopic and surgical recurrence has not been elucidated.

Aims: To evaluate if IASC is associated with an increased risk for endoscopic and surgical POR.

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Background: Analytic tools to study important clinical issues in complex, chronic diseases such as Crohn's disease (CD) include randomized trials, claims database studies, or small longitudinal epidemiologic cohorts. Using natural language processing (NLP), we sought to define the computable phenotype health state of pediatric and adult CD and develop patient-level longitudinal histories for health outcomes.

Methods: We defined 6 health states for CD using a subjective symptom-based assessment (symptomatic/asymptomatic) and an objective disease state assessment (active/inactive/no testing).

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Unlabelled: There are conflicting data assessing the impact of isolated post-operative anastomotic inflammation on future disease progression. The aim of this study was to determine the relative risk of severe disease progression in post-operative Crohn's disease (CD) patients with isolated anastomotic disease.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of adult CD patients undergoing ileocolonic resection between 2009 and 2020.

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Background & Aims: Postoperative Crohn's disease (CD) surveillance relies on endoscopic monitoring. The role of cross-sectional imaging is less clear. We evaluated the concordance of cross-sectional enterography with endoscopic recurrence and the predictive ability of radiography for future CD postoperative recurrence.

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Introduction: Ileocolic resection for Crohn's disease traditionally does not include a high ligation of the ileocolic pedicle, and most commonly is performed with a stapled side-to-side ileocolic anastomosis. The mesentery has recently been implicated in the pathophysiology of Crohn's disease. Two techniques have been developed and are associated with reduced postoperative recurrence: the Kono-S anastomosis that excludes diseased mesentery and extended mesenteric excision that resects diseased mesentery.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab (UST) in elderly patients (65 years and older) with Crohn's disease (CD), given the lack of existing data for this age group.
  • A total of 117 patients were analyzed, finding that while both elderly and nonelderly patients had a similar clinical response to UST, elderly patients had lower rates of complete remission.
  • The study concludes that UST is safe for elderly CD patients, although the findings are based on a small sample size and retrospective design, suggesting the need for further research in this area.
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Clinicians may be hesitant to prescribe biologics or immunomodulators to individuals with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and comorbid inflammatory disease (CID) because of increased cancer risk. Our aim was to compare the risk of malignancy in FAP individuals with inflammatory bowel (IBD) and/or rheumatic disease that received biologics/immunomodulators to those who did not. Individuals with FAP and CID were included in the study.

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The presentation of an upper gastrointestinal bleed secondary to an accessory splenic artery is a rare circumstance described only in 2 previous case reports. This report is the first to describe an upper gastrointestinal bleed consequent of a submucosal accessory splenic artery arising from the left phrenic artery, requiring multiple endoscopies and endovascular embolization. Vascular anatomic variants can pose a challenge to treatment, especially when they are unknown.

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Background: There are limited data on the postoperative outcomes in Crohn's disease patients exposed to preoperative ustekinumab or vedolizumab. We hypothesised that preoperative biologic use in Crohn's disease is not associated with postoperative complications after ileocolic resection.

Methods: Crohn's disease patients who underwent ileocolic resection over 2009-2019 were identified at a large regional health system.

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Background: Hypertrophy of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a hallmark of Crohn disease (CD). The VAT produces a wide range of adipokines, biologically active factors that contribute to metabolic disorders in addition to CD pathogenesis. The study aim was to concomitantly evaluate serum adipokine profiles and VAT volumes as predictors of disease outcomes and treatment course in newly diagnosed pediatric patients with CD.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Results showed a higher rate of CD-related surgeries in adults compared to children, with significant differences in biologic treatment usage between the two groups; patients receiving shorter biologic treatments were more likely to require surgery.
  • * The research establishes a large cohort and highlights the potential of NLP in understanding CD outcomes, indicating that long-term biologic therapy may reduce the need for surgery in both pediatric and adult patients.
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Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are seen in patients with COVID-19. The prevalence could be as high as 50%, but most studies show ranges from 16% to 33%. Presenting with GI symptoms increases the risk of testing positive for SARs-CoV-2.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study reviews the effectiveness of medical and endoscopic therapies for treating small bowel strictures in adults with Crohn's disease, specifically looking at outcomes like surgery and repeat endoscopic dilations.
  • It included 10 studies on systemic therapies and 8 on intralesional injections, mainly focusing on TNF antagonists and corticosteroids, but found no definitive superior treatment option.
  • Results indicated that surgery rates were 28.3% for systemic and 18.5% for intralesional therapies, with a high likelihood (58.3%) of needing repeat endoscopic balloon dilation after intralesional treatment.
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Despite advancements in medical therapy, many patients with Crohn's disease continue to require surgery for intestinal resection and/or management of perianal disease at some point in their disease course. Unfortunately, in this complex group of patients, postoperative disease recurrence rates are high. Medical prophylaxis can be used to prevent Crohn's disease recurrence or manage residual disease after surgery, but the ideal timing to start medications after surgery varies based on patient risk factors and patient preference for medication use.

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