Impact of prior irregular infliximab dosing on performance of long-term infliximab maintenance therapy in Crohn's disease.

Background: Infliximab is efficacious in the management of moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD). There are limited data regarding performance of infliximab in patients who require reinitiation of maintenance dosing following previous irregular exposure.

Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study of CD patients treated with maintenance infliximab beyond 3 years.

History of medical hospitalization predicts future need for colectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Background: Patients who require hospitalization for the management of ulcerative colitis (UC) may represent a subset with severe disease. These patients may be more likely to require future colectomy. There are limited data examining whether medical hospitalization is predictive of subsequent colectomy.

Permanent work disability in Crohn's disease.

Objective: Crohn's disease (CD) frequently presents during early adulthood, a peak time of work productivity. There are limited data from the United States on work disability from CD. We performed this study to identify clinical factors associated with permanent work disability in a CD tertiary referral cohort.

Impact of Clostridium difficile on inflammatory bowel disease.

Background & Aims: Clostridium difficile-associated disease has increased significantly in North American medical centers. The impact of C difficile on patients with IBD (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) at the present time is unknown.

Methods: A retrospective, observational study evaluating IBD patients followed in a referral center to evaluate the impact of C difficile was performed.