Active surveillance of oesophageal cancer after response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: dysphagia is uncommon.

Background: Active surveillance is being investigated as an alternative to standard surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for oesophageal cancer. It is unknown whether dysphagia persists or develops when the oesophagus is preserved after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of dysphagia during active surveillance in patients with an ongoing response.

Switching From Reference Infliximab to Biosimilar CT-P13 Did Not Change Quality of Life in Stable Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients.

Background: Quality of life (QoL) data for patients with inflammatory bowel disease switched from the reference infliximab to biosimilar CT-P13 is lacking. This study aims to demonstrate noninferiority for QoL and efficacy after switching.

Methods: OoL and clinical efficacy were measured prior to and after 2, 4, and 6 CT-P13 infusions.

A novel fully covered double-bump stent for staple line leaks after bariatric surgery: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Staple line leakage after bariatric surgery can be treated by endoscopic placement of a self-expandable stent. The success rate of stent placement is generally high, but migration is a frequent adverse event that hampers successful treatment. The Niti-S Beta stent is a fully covered double-bump stent that was specifically designed to prevent migration.

Thiopurines are associated with a reduction in surgical re-resections in patients with Crohn's disease: a long-term follow-up study in a regional and academic cohort.

Background: Combination therapy of thiopurines and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) antibodies is the most effective medical treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). Data on thiopurines and anti-TNF-α antibodies in preventing surgical recurrence (need for re-resection) of CD are scarce. Therefore, we analyzed which factors were involved in surgical recurrence of CD in a large cohort of patients with CD operated in a regional and a university hospital.

Maternal imprinting and female predominance in familial Crohn's disease.

Background And Aim: Although the genetic risk factors for familial and sporadic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) seem identical, the relative risk for contracting IBD in the familial setting is larger as that seen in the population at large, suggesting an important role of epi- and/or paragenetic factors in familial IBD. Epidemiological data indicate a female predominance in IBD, but how this relates to familial IBD has not been assessed.

Methods: Familial IBD patients (N=608) were compared with a cohort of 415 sporadic IBD patients with regards to the patterns of sex and disease type distribution.

Effects of active and passive smoking on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in a cohort from a regional hospital.

Objective: Smoking is detrimental for Crohn's disease (CD), but beneficial for ulcerative colitis (UC). Earlier, we studied the effects of active and passive smoking in CD and UC patients from a university hospital. This study was conducted to assess the same effects in patients from a regional hospital.

Cerebral gas embolism due to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Cerebral gas embolism as a result of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a rare complication and bares a high morbidity. A patient is presented who underwent an upper endoscopy for evaluation of a gastric-mediastinal fistula after subtotal oesophagectomy and gastric tube reconstruction because of oesophageal cancer. During the procedure, cerebral gas emboli developed resulting in an acute left-sided hemiparesis.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery versus endoscopic mucosal resection for large rectal adenomas (TREND-study).

Background: Recent non-randomized studies suggest that extended endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is equally effective in removing large rectal adenomas as transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM). If equally effective, EMR might be a more cost-effective approach as this strategy does not require expensive equipment, general anesthesia and hospital admission. Furthermore, EMR appears to be associated with fewer complications.

Diffuse enteritis after colectomy for ulcerative colitis: two case reports and review of the literature.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disease of the colon. Involvement of the small bowel is limited to backwash ileitis or pouch-related conditions. Here, we report two men with UC who presented with small bowel inflammation and even perforation, within 1 month after subtotal colectomy.

Colonic stenting as bridge to surgery versus emergency surgery for management of acute left-sided malignant colonic obstruction: a multicenter randomized trial (Stent-in 2 study).

Background: Acute left-sided colonic obstruction is most often caused by malignancy and the surgical treatment is associated with a high mortality and morbidity rate. Moreover, these operated patients end up with a temporary or permanent stoma. Initial insertion of an enteral stent to decompress the obstructed colon, allowing for surgery to be performed electively, is gaining popularity.

CARD15 mutations in Dutch familial and sporadic inflammatory bowel disease and an overview of European studies.

Objectives: The single nucleotide variations R702W, G908R and L1007fs in the CARD15 gene have been found to be independently associated with Crohn's disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of these gene variations in Dutch multiple inflammatory bowel disease-affected families, in sporadic inflammatory bowel disease patients and in healthy controls.

Methods: Dutch Caucasians from multiple inflammatory bowel disease-affected families were recruited, including 78 probands with Crohn's disease, 34 probands with ulcerative colitis and 71 inflammatory bowel disease-affected and 100 non-affected family members.

Absence of association between the multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene and inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective: The multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene encodes for P-glycoprotein, a drug efflux pump. Mice deficient for the MDR1a gene spontaneously develop colitis. In humans, a polymorphism in exon 26 (C3435T) is associated with reduced expression levels and function of MDR1.

Association between Toll-like receptor 4 and inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: The human Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) participates in the innate response. Recently, the TLR4 variant Asp299Gly has been described to affect the response of this receptor to lipopolysaccharide. As such, there is a potentially important role of TLR4 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

A solitary tuberculous ulcer in the oesophagus.

A 48-year-old woman born in Pakistan was evaluated for dysphagia. Endoscopy showed a solitary ulcerative oesophageal lesion. Cultures were positive for mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Card15 and Crohn's disease: healthy homozygous carriers of the 3020insC frameshift mutation.

Objectives: Single nucleotide variations in the CARD15 gene have recently been shown to be associated with Crohn's disease (CD). Of special interest is a cytosine insertion at position 3020 of exon 11 (3020insC), which leads to a stop codon, truncation of the CARD15 protein, and an altered function of CARD15. The aim of the study was to evaluate this frameshift mutation in Dutch, multiple-affected families with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).