The gut microbiome associates with phenotypic manifestations of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

The mechanisms underlying the many phenotypic manifestations of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) are poorly understood. Herein, we characterized the gut microbiome in heterogeneous cohorts of subjects with PACS and developed a multi-label machine learning model for using the microbiome to predict specific symptoms. Our processed data covered 585 bacterial species and 500 microbial pathways, explaining 12.

IBD barriers across the continents - East Asia.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic illnesses with significant morbidities and impact on patients' quality of life. There has been a rapid increase in the incidence of IBD in East Asia in recent decades. However, there is a huge unmet need in the diagnosis and management of IBD in this region.

Long-Term Safety Outcomes of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Real-World Data Over 8 Years From the Hong Kong FMT Registry.

Background And Aims: Prospective long-term real-world safety data after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) remain limited. We reported long-term outcomes of FMT from a population-based FMT registry in Hong Kong.

Methods: We recruited patients undergoing FMT for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and non-CDI indications from clinical trials, from June 2013 to April 2022 in Hong Kong.

Prevention and management of hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients with hematological malignancies in the targeted therapy era.

Hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation can be serious and potentially fatal, but is preventable. HBV reactivation is most commonly reported in patients receiving chemotherapy, especially rituximab-containing therapy for hematological malignancies and those receiving stem cell transplantation. Patients with inactive and even resolved HBV infection still have persistence of HBV genomes in the liver.

Randomised clinical trial: Faecal microbiota transplantation for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea.

Background: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been shown to improve symptoms in a proportion of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Aim: We performed a randomised trial to assess the efficacy of FMT in patients with IBS.

Methods: We randomised 56 patients with diarrhoea-predominant IBS 1:1 to FMT or placebo via the duodenal route at baseline and week 4.

Geography Influences Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Serological Response in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Multinational Analysis From the ICARUS-IBD Consortium.

Background: Beyond systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there have been no direct studies of serological response to COVID-19 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) across continents. In particular, there has been limited data from Asia, with no data reported from India. The ICARUS-IBD (International study of COVID-19 Antibody Response Under Sustained immunosuppression in IBD) consortium assessed serological response to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with IBD in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Gut microbiome signatures reflect different subtypes of irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a heterogeneous condition with multifactorial pathogenesis. We studied deeply phenotyped individuals with microbiota sequencing enrolled in the American Gut Project. The IBS subjects were matched by age, gender, body mass index, geography, and dietary patterns with non-IBS controls.

Multi-kingdom gut microbiota analyses define COVID-19 severity and post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

Our knowledge of the role of the gut microbiome in acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and post-acute COVID-19 is rapidly increasing, whereas little is known regarding the contribution of multi-kingdom microbiota and host-microbial interactions to COVID-19 severity and consequences. Herein, we perform an integrated analysis using 296 fecal metagenomes, 79 fecal metabolomics, viral load in 1378 respiratory tract samples, and clinical features of 133 COVID-19 patients prospectively followed for up to 6 months. Metagenomic-based clustering identifies two robust ecological clusters (hereafter referred to as Clusters 1 and 2), of which Cluster 1 is significantly associated with severe COVID-19 and the development of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

Antibiotics and probiotics impact gut antimicrobial resistance gene reservoir in COVID-19 patients.

Dysbiosis of gut microbiota is well-described in patients with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), but the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) reservoir, known as resistome, is less known. Here, we performed longitudinal fecal metagenomic profiling of 142 patients with COVID-19, characterized the dynamics of resistome from diagnosis to 6 months after viral clearance, and reported the impact of antibiotics or probiotics on the ARGs reservoir. Antibiotic-naive patients with COVID-19 showed increased abundance and types, and higher prevalence of ARGs compared with non-COVID-19 controls at baseline.

TM9SF4 Is a Crucial Regulator of Inflammation and ER Stress in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background & Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a major intestinal disease. Excessive inflammation and increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are the key events in the development of IBD. Search of a genome-wide association study database identified a remarkable correlation between a TM9SF4 single-nucleotide polymorphism and IBD.

Gut microbiota dynamics in a prospective cohort of patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

Background: Long-term complications after COVID-19 are common, but the potential cause for persistent symptoms after viral clearance remains unclear.

Objective: To investigate whether gut microbiome composition is linked to post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS), defined as at least one persistent symptom 4 weeks after clearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 106 patients with a spectrum of COVID-19 severity followed up from admission to 6 months and 68 non-COVID-19 controls.

COVID-19 Outcomes Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Individuals With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the United States.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than 29 million people and led to more than 542,000 deaths in the United States. Older age, comorbidities, and racial and ethnic minority status are associated with severe COVID-19. Among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), racial and ethnic minorities have worse outcomes, mediated in part by inequitable health care access.

Microbiota engraftment after faecal microbiota transplantation in obese subjects with type 2 diabetes: a 24-week, double-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Objective: The impact of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on microbiota engraftment in patients with metabolic syndrome is uncertain. We aimed to study whether combining FMT with lifestyle modification could enhance the engraftment of favourable microbiota in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Design: In this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial, 61 obese subjects with T2DM were randomly assigned to three parallel groups: FMT plus lifestyle intervention (LSI), FMT alone, or sham transplantation plus LSI every 4 weeks for up to week 12.

Optimising management strategies of inflammatory bowel disease in resource-limited settings in Asia.

Over the 21st century, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has become a global disease with increasing prevalence reported in the Asian subcontinent as a result of rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and westernisation of lifestyles. Although rates of surgery have shown a temporal decrease globally because of the increasing availability of new drugs and early initiation of effective therapy, health-care costs associated with IBD have continued to rise. The increase in IBD prevalence in resource-limited countries poses a substantial health-care burden.

Challenges in the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease in resource-limited settings in Asia.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in prevalence in resource-limited settings in Asia. Although the prevalence of IBD is lower in these settings than in high-income countries, the high disease burden due to large population size is projected to overtake that of high-income countries in the near future. Unique challenges exist for diagnosing and managing IBD in Asia.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Which IBD Patients Need to Be Scoped-Who Gets Scoped Now, Who Can Wait, and how to Resume to Normal.

Endoscopy is an essential component in the management of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. There is a risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during endoscopic procedures. The International Organization for the study of IBD [IOIBD] has developed 11 position statements, based on an online survey, that focus on how to prioritise endoscopies in IBD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, alternative modes for disease monitoring, and ways to triage the high number of postponed endoscopies after the pandemic.

Epidemiology and Natural History of Elderly-onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Results From a Territory-wide Hong Kong IBD Registry.

Background: Elderly-onset inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], defined as age ≥60 at diagnosis, is increasing worldwide. We aimed to compare clinical characteristics and natural history of elderly-onset IBD patients with those of adult-onset IBD patients.

Methods: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD from 1981 to 2016 were identified from a territory-wide Hong Kong IBD registry involving 13 hospitals.

Incidence and clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic diseases: A population-based study.

Objectives: Patients with rheumatologic diseases might be more susceptible to COVID-19 and carry a poorer prognosis. The aim of this study is to examine the incidence and outcomes of all COVID-19 patients with rheumatologic conditions in Hong Kong.

Methods: This is a population-based retrospective study.

Zero COVID-19 infection in inflammatory bowel disease patients: Findings from population-based inflammatory bowel disease registries in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Background And Aim: It is unsure whether inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a risk factor for novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Methods: IBD patients were identified from population-based databases in Hong Kong and Taiwan from January 21, 2020, until April 15, 2020.

Results: Total 2954 and 2554 IBD patients were identified in Hong Kong and Taiwan, respectively.

Cancer risk and chemoprevention in Chinese inflammatory bowel disease patients: a population-based cohort study.

Role of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), statin and aspirin in reducing cancer risks in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains controversial. We aimed to examine chemo-preventive effects of these drugs in all cancers in IBD in population-based setting. IBD patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2016 were identified from the Hong Kong IBD Registry and followed from IBD diagnosis until first cancer occurrence.

Epidemiology of fibrostenosing inflammatory bowel disease.

Fibrostenosis occurs in both Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Up to 21% of patients with CD present with strictures at diagnosis, while the rate of stenosis varies from 1% to 11% in UC. Despite the increasing use of immunomodulators and biologics in treatment, there has been no decrease in the rate of progression from inflammatory to complicated disease phenotypes (either stricturing or penetrating).