HLA DQA1*05 and risk of anti-TNF treatment failure and anti-drug antibody development in children with Crohn's Disease: HLA DQA1*05 and Pediatric Crohn's Disease.

Objectives: HLA DQA1*05 has been associated with the development of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) to tumor necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) and treatment failure among adults with Crohn's disease (CD). However, findings from other studies have been inconsistent with limited pediatric data.

Methods: We analyzed banked serum from patients with CD < 21 years of age enrolled in COMBINE, a multi-center, prospective randomized trial of anti-TNF monotherapy vs.

Low Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Levels During Maintenance Phase Are Associated With Treatment Failure in Children With Crohn's Disease.

Background: Higher drug levels and combination therapy with low-dose oral methotrexate (LD-MTX) may reduce anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment failure in pediatric Crohn's disease. We sought to (1) evaluate whether combination therapy with LD-MTX was associated with higher anti-TNF levels, (2) evaluate associations between anti-TNF levels and subsequent treatment failure, and (3) explore the effect of combination therapy on maintenance of remission among patients with therapeutic drug levels (>5 µg/mL for infliximab and >7.5 µg/mL for adalimumab).

Users' expectations of the new pre-exposure prophylaxis for the HIV modalities.

This article aims to discuss the expectations of Homosexual Men, Bisexual Men and a Transgender Woman, who use or want to use an oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) about PrEP modalities. Sixteen PrEP users, who are followed up in the BCN Checkpoint, were interviewed,. The interviews were audio-recorded, subjected to thematic categorical analysis within the theoretical framework from the praxiographic perspective.

Role of Prolonged Intubation in Vocal Fold Motion Impairment in Critically Ill Patients.

Objective: COVID-19 upsurge in orotracheal intubation (OTI) has opened a new opportunity for studying associated complications. Vocal fold motion impairment (VFMI) is a known complication of OTI. The present study sought to determine the impact of OTI and prolonged OTI on the risk of developing VFMI; to identify both risk and protective factors associated with it.

Predictive value of retinal atrophy for cognitive decline across disease duration in multiple sclerosis.

Background: We investigated the association between changes in retinal thickness and cognition in people with MS (PwMS), exploring the predictive value of optical coherence tomography (OCT) markers of neuroaxonal damage for global cognitive decline at different periods of disease.

Method: We quantified the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre (pRFNL) and ganglion cell-inner plexiform (GCIPL) layers thicknesses of 207 PwMS and performed neuropsychological evaluations. The cohort was divided based on disease duration (≤5 years or >5 years).

Hypereosinophilic Syndrome with Pulmonary Involvement in Ulcerative Colitis.

Reactive eosinophilia is associated with inflammatory bowel disease and is more common in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) compared with Crohn's disease. The prevalence rate of peripheral blood eosinophilia in patients with inflammatory bowel disease has been described to be as high as 30%-40% of patients in a pediatric study. The coexistence of hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) and UC is uncommon.

Evaluating the Accuracy of Self-Collected Swabs for the Diagnosis of Mpox.

We evaluated the accuracy of patient-collected skin lesions, oropharyngeal, and rectal swabs among 50 individuals enrolled in a study of mpox viral dynamics. We found that the performance of self-collected samples was similar to that of physician-collected samples, suggesting that self-sampling is a reliable strategy for diagnosing mpox.

Acute Vocal Fold Hemorrhage: Retrospective Analysis in a Voice Unit.

Objectives: To describe our experience in diagnosis, evaluation, management and evolution of adult patients diagnosed with vocal fold hemorrhage (VFH) in the Voice Unit at Universidad Católica Clinical Hospital Santiago, Chile.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: Adult patients diagnosed with VFH between 2012 and 2020 were included.

Clinical presentation and virological assessment of confirmed human monkeypox virus cases in Spain: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: In May, 2022, several European countries reported autochthonous cases of monkeypox, which rapidly spread globally. Early reports suggest atypical presentations. We aimed to investigate clinical and virological characteristics of cases of human monkeypox in Spain.

Is aflibercept an optimal treatment for wt RAS mCRC patients after progression to first line containing anti-EGFR?

Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety data of aflibercept + FOLFIRI in wt RAS mCRC patients after progression to standard chemotherapy + anti-EGFR treatment.

Methods: Retrospective, observational study in real life conducted in wt RAS mCRC patients treated with FOLFIRI-aflibercept after progression to standard first line chemotherapy + anti-EGFR treatment.

Results: A total of 120 patients from 12 Spanish hospitals were enrolled.

Study of the Thermochemical Surface Treatment Effect on the Phase Precipitation and Degradation Behaviour of DSS and SDSS.

In this study, the effect of a plasma ion carburizing process to duplex and superduplex stainless steels (DSS and SDSS), at 925 °C for a long time, as thermochemical process influencing the microstructural evolution is presented. The objective is to analyse the diffusion elements' influence on the precipitation of secondary phases after additional short thermal treatment. A comparison among the different treatments was performed after the resulting microstructures were analysed by Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscope.

Implementing a Novel Quality Improvement-Based Approach to Data Quality Monitoring and Enhancement in a Multipurpose Clinical Registry.

Objective: To implement a quality improvement based system to measure and improve data quality in an observational clinical registry to support a Learning Healthcare System.

Data Source: ImproveCareNow Network registry, which as of September 2019 contained data from 314,250 visits of 43,305 pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients at 109 participating care centers.

Study Design: The impact of data quality improvement support to care centers was evaluated using statistical process control methodology.

A Systematic Review of Micronutrient Deficiencies in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: This systematic review critically analyzes the current research on micronutrient deficiency in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and synthesizes these data to provide evidence-based guidelines for nutritional surveillance in this population.

Methods: We searched 5 databases (Ovid Medline, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library) for studies evaluating micronutrients in patients with IBD using the following inclusion criteria: 1) original research, 2) published 1996 or later; 3) published in English; 4) human subjects; and 5) containing pediatric data. Studies were reviewed and included based on the strength of research methods.

Medical and Surgical Management of Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) describes a spectrum of idiopathic, lifelong, and progressive intestinal inflammatory conditions that includes Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and indeterminate colitis. A worldwide increase in the incidence of IBD has been observed. In comparison to adults, IBD occurring during childhood and adolescence has several unique clinical characteristics and surgical management issues.

Liver enzyme elevations within 3 months of diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease and likelihood of liver disease.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease-associated liver diseases (IBD-LDs) include autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and an overlap syndrome. Prospective unbiased multicenter data regarding the frequency of IBD-LD in patients with pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are lacking. We examined early alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) elevations in children diagnosed as having IBD and assessed the likelihood of IBD-LD.