Distribution of Serum Testosterone Concentrations in IBD Males and Associations With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity.

Background: An inverse relationship exists between inflammation and testosterone concentrations in non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) immune conditions but has not been objectively explored in the IBD male population. We aimed to characterize the distribution of testosterone concentrations in a cohort of males with IBD and identify any relationship between testosterone levels and disease activity.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study of male IBD patients.

Switching from Dose-Intensified intravenous to SubCutaneoUS infliximab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (DISCUS-IBD): protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: A substantial proportion of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on intravenous infliximab require dose intensification. Accessing additional intravenous infliximab is labour-intensive and expensive, depending on insurance and pharmaceutical reimbursement. Observational data suggest that subcutaneous infliximab may offer a convenient and safe alternative to maintain disease remission in patients requiring dose-intensified infliximab.

A High Visceral-to-Skeletal Muscle Area Ratio on Cross-Sectional Imaging Is Associated With Failure of Standard Ustekinumab Doses: A Multicenter Study.

Introduction: Anti-interleukin 12/23 agents have shown greater durability in response compared with anti-tumor necrosis factor α agents. Data on the association between body composition (BC) or body mass index (BMI) and ustekinumab's therapeutic response is limited. We aimed to evaluate the impact of BC on time to failing standard doses of ustekinumab in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

The yield of dysplasia and serrated lesions in a single-centre tertiary inflammatory bowel disease cohort.

Background: Chromoendoscopy is preferred over high-definition white light endoscopy (HDWLE) for dysplasia surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, but is more time-consuming to perform and real-world evidence is limited. The prevalence of sessile serrated lesions (SSLs) in IBD patients is also unknown.

Objective: To determine the yield of polypoid and non-polypoid dysplasia and SSLs in IBD patients undergoing dysplasia surveillance and the associations for these lesions.

The Effect of Adiposity on Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Levels and Loss of Response in Crohn's Disease Patients.

Introduction: A high body mass index is known to adversely affect antitumor necrosis factor-alpha trough levels and secondary loss of response (SLOR) in patients with Crohn's disease. We hypothesize that high levels of adiposity negatively affect these outcomes and aimed to determine if this relationship exists.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of 69 patients with Crohn's disease from two tertiary inflammatory bowel disease centers between February 1, 2015, and June 30, 2018.

Switching Australian patients with moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease from originator to biosimilar infliximab: a multicentre, parallel cohort study.

Objective: To examine whether non-medical switching of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from originator infliximab to a biosimilar (CT-P13, Inflectra) is safe and clinically non-inferior to continued treatment with originator infliximab.

Design: Prospective, open label, multicentre, parallel cohort, non-inferiority study in seven Australian hospitals over 48 weeks, May 2017 - October 2019.

Participants: Adults (18 years or older) with IBD receiving maintenance originator infliximab (Remicade) who had been in steroid-free clinical remission for at least 12 weeks.

Vedolizumab for ulcerative colitis: Real world outcomes from a multicenter observational cohort of Australia and Oxford.

Background: Vedolizumab (VDZ), a humanised monoclonal antibody that selectively inhibits integrins is approved for use in adult moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) patients.

Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of VDZ in the real-world management of UC in a large multicenter cohort involving two countries and to identify predictors of achieving remission.

Methods: A retrospective review of Australian and Oxford, United Kingdom data for UC patients.

Ileocolonic End-to-End Anastomoses in Crohn's Disease Increase the Risk of Early Post-operative Endoscopic Recurrence in Those Undergoing an Emergency Resection.

Background And Aim: Several risk factors affecting post-operative recurrence in Crohn's disease patients have been studied, and of these, the role of the anastomosis remains contentious. We aimed to compare the risk of developing early post-operative endoscopic recurrence (EPER), in resections that had an end-to-end anastomosis (ETEA) to a side-to-side anastomosis (STSA).

Methods: All Crohn's disease patients that underwent an ileocolic or small bowel resection between January 2012 and June 2017 at two tertiary IBD centres were reviewed retrospectively.

Entyvio lengthen dose-interval study: lengthening vedolizumab dose interval and the risk of clinical relapse in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Vedolizumab (VDZ), an α4β7 anti-integrin antibody, is efficacious in the induction and maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). In the GEMINI long-term safety study, enrolled patients received 4-weekly VDZ. Upon completion, patients were switched to 8-weekly VDZ in Australia.

Oral tacrolimus for the treatment of refractory inflammatory bowel disease in the biologic era.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are refractory to standard therapies frequently require surgery. The long-term efficacy of tacrolimus in patients who fail standard immunosuppressive and antitumor necrosis factor α therapy is unknown.

Methods: Thirty-five patients (11 Crohn's disease and 24 ulcerative colitis) with medication-resistant disease were treated with oral tacrolimus and reviewed retrospectively.

IgG4-related sclerosing disease of the small bowel presenting as necrotizing mesenteric arteritis and a solitary jejunal ulcer.

Since first described in the mid 1990s, there has been burgeoning literature on IgG4-related sclerosing disease. The number of sites that may be involved is ever increasing, with the pancreas, salivary glands, and lymph nodes being the most commonly affected organs. There are no well-documented cases arising in the gastrointestinal tract.

Acute graft-versus-host disease after liver transplant: novel use of etanercept and the role of tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors.

Acute graft-versus-host disease following orthotopic liver transplantation is a rare but feared complication arising in 1% to 2% of cases with a dismal prognosis. It most often presents as fever, rash, and diarrhea with or without pancytopenia. Patients die from complications of marrow failure such as sepsis or bleeding.