Endoscopic management of stricturing Crohn's disease.

The natural history of Crohn's disease (CD) usually begins with primary intestinal inflammation, which progresses gradually to stricturing lesions. Stricture is a complicated, intractable but very common clinical problem in the management of CD. Difficulties remain in treating stricturing CD because of the limited efficacy of drug therapy and relapse of stricturing lesions cannot be completely avoided by surgery.

Insufficient awareness and vaccination practices for inflammatory bowel disease patients in China: A multi-center survey of Chinese gastroenterologists.

Objective: The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been increasing worldwide, and the risk of infection has increased due to the use of immunosuppressive and biologic medications. Some of these infections can be prevented with vaccinations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the vaccination practices of Chinese gastroenterologists for patients with IBD.

Risk factors and clinical outcome of Clostridium difficile infection in patients with IBD: A single-center retrospective study of 260 cases in China.

Objective: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) may lead to poor outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study we aimed to investigate the cumulative incidence, risk factors and outcome of CDI in patients with IBD in a single center in China.

Methods: The clinical features and endoscopic profiles of consecutive IBD patients admitted to Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine between January 2013 and December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.

Adsorptive Granulocyte and Monocyte Apheresis in the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis: The First Multicenter Study in China.

Background/aims: Patients with active ulcerative colitis (UC) have elevated levels of activated myeloid-derived leukocytes as a source of inflammatory cytokines. The selective depletion of these leukocytes by adsorptive granulocyte/monocyte apheresis (GMA) with an Adacolumn should alleviate inflammation, promote remission and enhance drug efficacy. However, studies have reported contrasting efficacy outcomes based on patients' baseline demographic variables.