Evaluation of the transition from intravenous to subcutaneous vedolizumab in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Aims: The aim of the study is to evaluate the clinical and biochemical response of inflammatory bowel disease patients treated with vedolizumab, 16 weeks after transitioning from intravenous (iv) to subcutaneous (sc).

Methods: An observational, prospective, single-center cohort study was performed. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease and maintenance treatment with vedolizumab, stable for at least 4 months, were offered to switch to sc formulation.

Intensification with Intravenous Ustekinumab in Refractory Crohn's Disease.

Background: The rates of clinical and biochemical responses in Crohn's disease (CD) patients treated with intravenous (IV) ustekinumab (UST) intensification are scarcely described.

Methods: Patients with diagnosis of CD who were under intensified IV ustekinumab treatment (130 mg every 4 weeks) were retrospectively included, evaluating the clinical and biochemical response 12 weeks after the change in treatment regimen (switch from SC to IV), as well as the serum levels of the drug.

Results: Twenty-seven patients, all of whom had transitioned to intensified intravenous ustekinumab treatment due to a secondary loss of response to the drug, were included in the retrospective analysis.

Seroprevalence of ANTI-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with biologic and/or immunosuppressant drugs are at increased risk for opportunistic infections. Seroprevalence studies can confirm the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections as well as the associated risk factors. This is a descriptive study which primary endpoints were to highlight the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a cohort of IBD patients in March 2021, and to analyze seroconversion in patients with known COVID-19 infection and its relationship with IBD treatments.

Serologic response to COVID-19 vaccines in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective study.

Background And Aims: response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine can be altered in patients with immune-mediated diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, and in patients under immunosuppressive treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the serologic response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, to analyze the influence of immunosuppressive drugs on response, and to describe any adverse events in this population.

Methods: this was a prospective study that included adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Randomized clinical trial evaluating three low-volume preparations for colonoscopy in outpatients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: the EII-PREP trial.

Background: Data regarding bowel preparation in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are scarce.

Aim: To compare efficacy, safety, and tolerability of low-volume preparations in patients with IBD.

Methods: Single-center, randomized, prescriber, and colonoscopist-blinded clinical trial.

Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis c infection and stage 3 fibrosis after sustained virological response.

Evidence on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with stage 3 liver fibrosis (F3) and SVR is scarce and continues to generate uncertainty. Furthermore, the distinction between F3 and F4 disease is complex. Consequently, the latest international guidelines recommend using the same screening protocol for HCC after SVR in both F3 and F4 patients.

Hepatocellular carcinoma risk in hepatitis C stage-3 fibrosis after sustained virological response with direct-acting antivirals.

Background & Aims: Patients with chronic hepatitis C and stage 3 fibrosis are thought to remain at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma after sustained virological response. We investigated this risk in a large cohort of patients with well-defined stage 3 fibrosis.

Methods: We performed a multicentre, ambispective, observational study of chronic hepatitis C patients with sustained virological response after treatment with direct-acting antivirals started between January and December 2015.

Correlation between endoscopy and intestinal ultrasound for the evaluation of postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease.

Objective: Intestinal ultrasound is considered to be a valid alternative for the evaluation of post-operative recurrence (POR) of Crohn's disease. The aim of this study is to assess the correlation between ultrasound and endoscopic findings.

Methods: Patients with Crohn's disease were retrospectively recruited who had undergone ileocecal resection, and for whom a colonoscopy and intestinal ultrasound had been performed for the detection of POR.

Optimization of azathioprine dose in combined treatment with anti-TNF-alpha in inflammatory bowel disease.

Introduction: The dose of thiopurine drugs in combined treatments with anti-TNF in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been clearly established. The purpose of this study is to assess whether the dose of azathioprine influences clinical and biochemical response/remission rates, and anti-TNF drug levels/antibody formation.

Material And Methods: Patients with IBD on combined maintenance treatment with azathioprine and infliximab or adalimumab were selected.

Prognostic value of ultrasound activity and parietal healing in patients with Crohn's disease.

Introduction: the "treat to target" strategy for the management of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) requires simple, reliable and non-invasive tools for continuous monitoring of the disease. Intestinal ultrasound has been proposed as an emerging technique that could be very useful in this field.

Material And Methods: patients who had undergone an intestinal ultrasound in the clinical practice between February 2013 and October 2018 at our hospital were retrospectively included.

Is the degree of i2a recurrence in Crohn's disease secondary to ischemic phenomena?

Introduction: the Rutgeerts score is used to assess post-surgical recurrence of Crohn's disease (CD). The score initially consisted of four grades, with a subsequent sub-classification of grade 2, under which ulcers confined to the anastomosis (i2a) are considered to be of a probable ischemic origin. The aim of this study was to assess whether ulcers confined to the anastomosis appear at the same frequency in patients undergoing surgery for other causes and can therefore be attributed to post-surgical changes.

Doppler Activity and Ultrasonographic Detection of Intra-Abdominal Fistulas Are Predictors of Surgery in Crohn's Disease.

Unlabelled: Bakground and Aim: Predictors of the need for surgery in sticturing Crohn's disease (SCD) are lacking. Bowel ultrasound (US) is a harmless, noninvasive, and inexpensive diagnostic procedure that has proven to be a valuable tool in the management of Crohn's disease (CD). Our aim was to identify ultrasonographic findings in SCD that may associate with a higher risk of surgery, allowing us to make early choices regarding treatment election in this specific group of patients.

Management of COVID-19 Pandemic in Spanish Inflammatory Bowel Disease Units: Results From a National Survey.

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 has rapidly evolved into a pandemic that has represented a challenge to health systems worldwide. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) units have been forced to change their practices to address the disease and to ensure the quality of care.

Methods: We conducted a national survey among IBD gastroenterologist members of the Spanish Working Group on Crohn's Disease and Colitis regarding changes of practice, IBD treatments, and diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

Hepatitis E virus in neurological disorders: a case of Parsonage-Turner syndrome.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an emerging disease in developed countries with a broad clinical spectrum. In the absence of immunodeficiency or pregnancy, it is a mild and almost asymptomatic condition in most cases. However, extrahepatic manifestations, including neurological conditions, are common and may occasionally lead to permanent neurological sequelae.