Induction Efficacy of Upadacitinib in Therapy-Refractory Crohn's Disease: A Retrospective Case Series.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Achieving clinical and endoscopic remission is the main therapeutic goal. Despite available treatment options, some patients present with treatment-refractory disease to approved therapies.

Role of fecal calprotection in predicting endoscopic recurrence in postoperative Crohn's disease.

Background And Aims: Fecal calprotectin (fCP) has been shown to correlate with endoscopic disease activity in Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study was to evaluate its role in predicting early endoscopic recurrence in postoperative CD.

Methods: Patients who underwent CD-related intestinal resection with ileocolonic anastomosis were prospectively followed up until ileocolonoscopy was performed around 12 months post-surgery.

The AST/ALT (De Ritis) Ratio Predicts Survival in Patients with Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Aminotransaminases, including aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), are strongly involved in cancer cell metabolism and have been associated with prognosis in different types of cancer. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the pre-treatment AST/ALT ratio in a large European cohort of patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer (OOSCC). Data from 515 patients treated for OOSCC at a tertiary academic center from 2000-2017 were retrospectively analyzed.

The decreased mean platelet volume is associated with poor prognosis in patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy.

Background: There is considerable evidence that platelets contribute to cancer growth and metastatic dissemination. In recent studies, altered mean platelet volume (MPV) has been associated with prognosis in different types of cancer. However, the prognostic role of the MPV in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is currently discussed controversially.

[Jury prize of the Austrian National Prize 2018 : 12 years European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) at the University Eye Clinic Graz].

Background: The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) approach has been successfully implemented in healthcare but reports about EFQM awards at university clinics are lacking so far. Can a non-profit organization, such as a university eye department successfully compete with profit companies from industry for the National Prize of the Federal Ministry for Innovation and Business in Austria?

Material And Methods: Following successful committed to excellence (C2E) assessments in 2008 and 2010, a 70-page corporate report was compiled strictly according to the EFQM logic (latest version 2013), consisting of basic concepts, criteria matrix and results/approach/deployment/assessment and refinement (RADAR) logic, which formed the basis for an 1‑day assessment in 2018. Special emphasis was laid on the development and presentation of the strategy by means of the X‑matrix (according to Hoshin-Kanri) between the University Eye Department and its shareholders, the Styrian Hospital Association (KAGes) owned by the Federal State of Styria and the Medical University financed by the Austrian State Federal Ministry.

Decrease in treatment intensity predicts worse outcome in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma undergoing radiochemotherapy.

Purpose: Radiochemotherapy (RCT) is an effective standard therapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC). Nonetheless, toxicity is common, with patients often requiring dose modifications.

Methods: To investigate associations of RCT toxicities according to CTCAE version 5.

Immunosuppressives and biologics during pregnancy and lactation : A consensus report issued by the Austrian Societies of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Rheumatology and Rehabilitation.

An increasing and early-onset use of immunosuppressives and biologics has become more frequently seen among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and rheumatic disorders. Many women in their childbearing years currently receive such medications, and some of them in an interdisciplinary setting. Many questions arise in women already pregnant or wishing to conceive with respect to continuing or discontinuing treatment, the risks borne by the newborns and their mothers and long-term safety.

Prediction of Individual Serum Infliximab Concentrations in Inflammatory Bowel Disease by a Bayesian Dashboard System.

Despite a robust exposure-response relationship of infliximab in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), attempts to adjust dosing to individually predicted serum concentrations of infliximab (SICs) are lacking. Compared with labor-intensive conventional software for pharmacokinetic (PK) modeling (eg, NONMEM) dashboards are easy-to-use programs incorporating complex Bayesian statistics to determine individual pharmacokinetics. We evaluated various infliximab detection assays and the number of samples needed to precisely forecast individual SICs using a Bayesian dashboard.

An index with improved diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of Crohn's disease derived from the Lennard-Jones criteria.

Background: The Lennard-Jones criteria are considered the gold standard for diagnosing Crohn's disease (CD) and include the items granuloma, macroscopic discontinuity, transmural inflammation, fibrosis, lymphoid aggregates and discontinuous inflammation on histology. The criteria have never been subjected to a formal validation process.

Aim: To develop a validated and improved diagnostic index based on the items of Lennard-Jones criteria.

A 1-year trial of repeated high-dose intravenous iron isomaltoside 1000 to maintain stable hemoglobin levels in inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective: Iron isomaltoside 1000 (Monofer®) is a high-dose intravenous (IV) iron, which in a recent 8 weeks trial in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) subjects with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) demonstrated good tolerability and efficacy. The present trial is an extension to this trial, which evaluates the need for additional high IV iron doses to maintain a stable hemoglobin (Hb) ≥12.0 g/dl.

Unknown primary of the head and neck: A long-term follow-up.

Background: A diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of an unknown primary (CUP) is a major burden for patients. Because the location of the primary tumor is unclear, patients remain fearful of recurrence, which aggravates the uncertain prognosis of the disease. This study evaluates factors associated with long-term recurrence-free and overall survival of patients with CUP of the head and neck.

Is lymph-node ratio a superior predictor than lymph node status for recurrence-free and overall survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma?

Introduction: TNM status is questioned as an exact predictor of survival in different tumour entities. Recently, lymph node ratio (LNR) has been described as a predictor of survival in patients with HNSCC. The purpose of this study was to evaluate to which degree LNR could be used as a more accurate predictor than TNM staging?

Methods: A total of 291 patients, with a follow-up of at least 3 years, were analyzed using log-rank statistic, univariate and multivariate data analyzes, and p values, for prediction of lymph node ratio on overall and recurrence-free survival.

Preservation of ipsilateral submandibular gland is ill advised in cancer of the floor of the mouth or tongue.

Objectives/hypothesis: Preservation of the submandibular gland (SMG) during a neck dissection is gaining popularity and is showing an increasing tendency. The potential benefit, if the SMG is preserved, can be manifold. The aim of this study was to assess the benefit of the preservation of the SMG and the associated risk of recurrent disease in patients with oropharyngeal or oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Influence of histopathologic factors on pattern of metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Objectives/hypothesis: Knowledge of histopathological factors, such as perineural invasion (PNI), extracapsular spread (ECS), angiolymphatic vessel invasion, and conglomerate lymph nodes, in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is important for appropriate treatment decisions. Given the availability of aggressive therapeutic options with known side effects and burdens for the patient, choosing the correct treatment option is vital.

Study Design: Retrospective patient database.

Induction chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil followed by radiotherapy with cetuximab for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy and feasibility of induction chemotherapy (ICT) with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil followed by radiotherapy and cetuximab (C) in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Patients And Methods: Forty-nine previously untreated patients with local advanced stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) received three courses of ICT consisting of docetaxel 75mg/m(2) day 1, cisplatin 75mg/m(2) day 1 and infusional 5-fluorouracil 750mg/m(2)/day on days 1-5 followed by radiotherapy plus C at 250mg/m(2)/week (after an initial loading dose of 400mg/m(2)).

Results: After completion of ICT 44 of 49 patients received radiotherapy plus C.

Palifermin reduces severe mucositis in definitive chemoradiotherapy of locally advanced head and neck cancer: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Purpose: Oral mucositis (OM) is a debilitating toxicity of chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer (HNC). This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study evaluated the efficacy and safety of palifermin to reduce OM associated with definitive chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced HNC.

Patients And Methods: Patients receiving conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (2.

The role of interleukin-16 in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis.

Eosinophilic granulocytes (Eos) are found in great numbers both in the tissue and in the mucus of patients suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis with polyposis (ECRS). Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is known as a highly potent chemotactic and chemoattractant molecule (ED 10-11) for Eos. In an open, explorative, controlled study we examined the presence of IL-16 in mucosa tissue, mucus and serum in patients suffering from ECRS and its association to Eos activation.

Are endometrial carcinoma cells disseminated at hysteroscopy functionally viable?

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of transtubal dissemination of endometrial carcinoma cells by hysteroscopy and the functional viability of disseminated tumor cells by assessing cell adhesion in an in vitro model.

Methods: We studied 24 uteri obtained at TAH+BSO in patients with endometrial carcinoma. Further inclusion criteria were negative peritoneal cytology, no involvement of the uterine serosa or extrauterine disease, and endometrial surface involvement >1 cm in diameter.

Course of maternal serum magnesium levels in low-risk gestations and in preterm labor and delivery.

Objectives: To describe the course of total and ionized magnesium and total calcium levels in maternal serum during low-risk pregnancies and to compare women who developed preterm labor and delivery with those who delivered at term.

Methods: 209 women with low-risk pregnancies were enrolled in a prospective trial before the 18th week of gestation. No woman received oral magnesium supplementation.