Long-term safety and effectiveness of azathioprine in the management of inflammatory bowel disease: A real-world experience.

Background And Aim: Azathioprine (AZA) forms the cornerstone for maintenance of sustained remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There is apprehension regarding the long-term effectiveness and safety of AZA in IBD. We present our experience with AZA use and outcomes in a cohort of IBD patients followed up over a long period of time.

Detection of Spinal Tuberculosis by F-18 FDG PET/CT as a Cause of Unusual Referred Pain in the Right Upper Quadrant of Abdomen.

Tuberculous involvement of the spine (tuberculosis [TB] spine) can cause severe morbidity unless detected and treated early. Apart from the constitutional symptoms, it can present with back pain, kyphosis, gait abnormality, and paraplegia secondary to the bone or spinal cord involvement. There had been instances of TB spine presenting directly as abdominal pain due to psoas abscesses.

Chronic vomiting: Rare causes not to be missed.

Establishing the cause of vomiting can be challenging in 10% of patients. In such situations, the clinicians need to consider non-gastrointestinal causes including metabolic and endocrine disorders. Clinical and laboratory clues may prompt further relevant tests that will lead to the correct diagnosis.

Inflammatory bowel diseases in Tamil Nadu: A survey of demographics, clinical profile, and practices.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasingly diagnosed in South Asia. This survey by the Tamil Nadu Chapter of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (TNISG) documents the demography, clinical profile, and therapeutic practices related to IBD in Tamil Nadu.

Methods: TNISG members from 32 institutions completed an online cross-sectional questionnaire on IBD patients from March 2020 to January 2021.