Simplified Histologic Mucosal Healing Scheme (SHMHS) for inflammatory bowel disease: a nationwide multicenter study of performance and applicability

Techniques in Coloproctology - Assessment of mucosal healing is important for the management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but endoscopy can miss microscopic disease areas that...     

Diagnostic accuracy of confocal laser endomicroscopy in diagnosing dysplasia in patients affected by long-standing ulcerative colitis

AIM:To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of confocal laser endomicroscopy(CLE) for the detection of dysplasia in long-standing ulcerative colitis(UC).METHODS:We prospectively performed a surveillance colonoscopy in 51 patients affected by long-standing UC.Also,in the presence of macroscopic areas with suspected dysplasia,both targeted contrasted indigo carmine endoscopic assessment and probe-based CLE were performed.Colic mucosal biopsies and histology,utilised as the gold standard,were assessed randomly and on visible lesions,in accordance with current guidelines.RESULTS:Fourteen of the 51 patients(27%) showed macroscopic mucosal alterations with the suspected presence of dysplasia,needing chromoendoscopic and CLE evaluation.In 5 macroscopically suspected cases,the presence of dysplasia was confirmed by histology(3 flat dysplasia;2 DALMs).No dysplasia/cancer was found on any of the outstanding random biopsies.The diagnostic accuracy of CLE for the detection of dysplasia compared to standard histology was sensitivity 100%,specificity 90%,positive predictive value 83% and negative predictive value 100%.CONCLUSION:CLE is an accurate tool for the detection of dysplasia in long-standing UC and shows optimal values of sensitivity and negative predictivity.The scheduled combined application of chromoendoscopy and CLE could maximize the endoscopic diagnostic accuracy for diagnosis of dysplasia in UC patients,thus limiting the need for biopsies.     

Confocal laser endomicroscopy in ulcerative colitis: beyond endoscopic assessment of disease activity

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) in the assessment of disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

Consecutive patients with UC referred to our inflammatory bowel disease unit for colonoscopy were enrolled. Patients without UC were used as controls. UC activity was evaluated by white light endoscopy and classified according to the Mayo Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Score of Severity. Endoscopic biopsies were also taken for histological assessment of disease activity and then assessed with CLE. Three parameters were evaluated; crypt architecture (crypt diameter, inter-crypt distance, presence of fused crypts, crypts regularity), microvascular pattern (regular, dilated, irregular and deformed), fluorescein leakage.

Results

Fifty patients with UC and 10 controls were enrolled. At colonoscopy, 11 patients (22%), 19 patients (38%), 12 patients (24%) and 8 patients (16%) presented a Mayo score of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. At CLE, fused crypts were present in all the patients with UC and absent in controls. Crypt diameter and inter-crypt distance showed a parallel increase with the Mayo score. Fluorescein leakage and irregular vessels were more frequently found in case of a high level of endoscopic severity, but were also identified in about 20% of UC patients with normal mucosa. Biopsies also demonstrated the presence of histological activity in 4 patients with endoscopically inactive colitis.

Conclusions

CLE might be a useful tool to determine inflammatory activity in UC. Fused crypts appeared to be a CLE marker of UC, while other abnormalities, like microvascular alteration and fluorescein leakage, have also been identified in patients with mucosal healing at endoscopy. Larger series are required to validate these results and the advantages of a CLE-based assessment of UC activity.

     

Infliximab in the treatment of extra-intestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is frequently associated with extra-intestinal manifestations (EIMs) and infliximab has been recently proposed for the treatment of CD with EIMs. Our aim was to evaluate the short-term efficacy of infliximab in this treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty CD patients were treated with infliximab. Fifteen patients (50%) showed EIMs before starting therapy. Ten patients presented an arthritis (five sacroiliitis, five spondylitis), with six also reporting peripheral arthralgias. Four patients presented cutaneous EIMs while three patients had an ocular EIM. RESULTS: At week 10, all patients reported an improvement in EIMs. Regarding arthritis, ASAS20 and ASAS40 improvement was observed in 80% and 60% of patients, respectively. In the four patients with cutaneous EIMs and in the three with ocular EIMs, complete healing was observed. Recurrence was observed in 10 out of 15 patients (66%) and a second course of treatment with infliximab was required. This proved to be effective in all cases except for one patient who stopped treatment because of a severe adverse reaction. CONCLUSIONS: Infliximab is an effective drug in the short-term treatment of EIMs complicating CD. Although relapse of EIMs occurs frequently, retreatment ensures effective control of the symptoms.     

Hepatitis related to cytomegalovirus infection in two patients with Crohn''s disease treated with azathioprine

Azathioprine-related side-effects occur in about 15% of treated patients. Liver toxicity is a rare complication of this drug, but is considered, in most cases, a contraindication to the continuation of treatment. However, abnormal liver tests may occur in patients under azathioprine treatment also due to infections. The distinction between toxic and infective causes of abnormal liver tests is important in order to identify patients that can be rechallenged with the drug. Cytomegalovirus infection is common in immunosuppressed transplant recipients, while the incidence is lower in patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with immunosuppressive drugs. To our knowledge, only 2 cases of cytomegalovirus hepatitis occurring during azathioprine treatment for Crohn's disease had been reported so far. Here, we describe two patients who experienced mild hepatitis associated with the onset of cytomegalovirus infection during azathioprine treatment. The infection was documented by the appearance of IgM anti cytomegalovirus. Both cases were self-limiting. In one of the 2 patients, azathioprine was given again after resolution of the hepatitis with good control of Crohn's disease and without other complications. We also retrospectively evaluated the incidence of liver abnormalities assessed by blood tests in 58 consecutive patients with Crohn's disease treated with azathioprine at our institution. Abnormal results were obtained in 8 out of these 58 patients, requiring discontinuation of the drug in 3 patients, two of whom were the cytomegalovirus cases described above.     

Hepatitis B and C virus reactivation in immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease

In recent years,a number of case reports and clinical studies have highlighted the risk of hepatitis B and C virus reactivation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are treated with immunosuppressive drugs.The cases of viral hepatitis reactivation that have been reported are characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations,from viremia without clinically relevant manifestations to fulminant life-threatening hepatitis.The development and dissemination of biological immunosuppressive drugs have led to a significant increase in the number of reports of interest to physicians in a variety of clinical settings.On this topic,there have been a number of published guidelines and reviews that have collected the available evidence,providing recommendations on prophylactic and therapeutic strategies and methods for monitoring patients at risk.However,it should be noted that,to date,very few clinical studies have been published,and most of the recommendations have been borrowed from otherclinical settings.The published studies are mostly retrospective and are based on very heterogeneous populations,using different therapeutic and prophylactic regimens and obtaining conflicting results.Thus,it seems clear that it is desirable to concentrate our efforts on prospective studies,not conducting further reviews of the literature in the continued absence of new evidence.