A prospective evaluation of the impact of allopurinol in pediatric and adult IBD patients with preferential metabolism of 6-mercaptopurine to 6-methylmercaptopurine.

Background: 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) is used for the induction and maintenance of remission of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 6-MP is converted into 6-methylmercaptopurine (6-MMP) or 6-thioguanine nucleotides (6-TGN) intracellularly. Treatment response in IBD patients correlates with 6-TGN levels.

Unusual presentations of eosinophilic gastroenteritis: case series and review of literature.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is an uncommon disease characterized by focal or diffuse eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract, and is usually associated with dyspepsia, diarrhea and peripheral eosinophilia. Diffuse gastrointestinal tract and colonic involvement are uncommon. The endoscopic appearance may vary from normal to mucosal nodularity and ulceration.

Long-term follow-up of the endoscopic treatment of strictures in pediatric and adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Strictures are a common complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and are usually treated by surgical resection or strictureplasty. As an alternative to surgery, endoscopic balloon dilation and steroid injection have been used to relieve symptoms.

Goals: To assess patient or stricture characteristics that may predict a better outcome and duration of response as endoscopic therapy is not without its risks.

Prevalence of enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis in hospital-acquired diarrhea.

Stool specimens from 152 hospitalized patients with diarrhea were analyzed for the presence of enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. ETBF gene sequences were directly detected in 14/152 (9.21%) stools of patients.

Crohn's disease associated with Sweet's syndrome and Sjögren's syndrome treated with infliximab.

The association of Crohn's disease (CD) and Sweet's syndrome is rare and the presence of Sjögren's syndrome in Crohn's disease is even rarer, with only three reports found in the literature. We describe two cases of Crohn's disease associated with Sweet's syndrome, one of which is the first case of CD and Sweet's concomitantly associated with Sjogren's syndrome. Both cases responded rapidly to Infliximab therapy with complete resolution of the skin lesions.

Endoscopic evidence of mucosal injury in patients taking ticlopidine compared with patients taking aspirin/nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and controls.

Background: Ticlopidine is a novel antiplatelet agent used alone or in combination with aspirin and anticoagulants in the treatment and prevention of various vascular diseases. Gastrointestinal side effects, including bleeding, have been reported with use of ticlopidine in most of the vascular prevention trials. We studied the endoscopic evidence of mucosal damage in patients taking ticlopidine compared with patients taking aspirin/nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and matched controls.