Background/Aims Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is a time-critical situation requiring urgent intervention. Limited data exist on the evolving clinical spectrum of ASUC in the era of advanced therapies.
Methods This prospective real-world observational cohort study included 145 adult patients hospitalized with ASUC between January 2020 and June 2024. ASUC was defined by the modified Truelove and Witts criteria. Demographics and disease characteristics, including disease severity, probable precipitating factors, and corticosteroid failure rates, were recorded.
Results The median age of patients was 36 years (interquartile range, 26–48.5 years) with 63 females (43.4%). Most patients had left-sided colitis (53.1%). The median disease duration was 1 year (IQR, 0.5–3 years), with 91 patients (62.7%) presenting with ASUC within the first year of diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. One-third of the patients had previous exposure to biologics and small molecules. The most commonly reported probable precipitants of ASUC were poor compliance with treatment (n = 43, 29.6%), antibiotic use (n = 35, 24.1%), high perceived stress (n = 32, 22.1%), and Clostridioides difficile infection (n = 19, 13.1%). Forty patients (27.5%) were non-responders to intravenous corticosteroids (IVCS). Twenty-nine patients (20%) received medical rescue therapy (infliximab, n = 14 [48.27%], cyclosporine A, n = 6 [20.68%], and tofacitinib, n = 9 [31.03%]). Seven patients (4.82%; 4 after non-response to IVCS and 3 after non-response to medical rescue therapy) underwent colectomy.
Conclusions In this cohort of ASUC patients, poor treatment compliance, antibiotic use, stress, and C. difficile infection were common precipitants of flare-ups. Nearly one-third of patients required medical rescue therapy, and a small proportion ultimately underwent colectomy.
Background/Aims The inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-disk is a validated, visual, 10-item, self-administered questionnaire used to evaluate IBD-related disability. The present study aimed to evaluate IBD-disk in assessment of IBD daily life burden and its relation with disease activity. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2021 and December 2021. Patients with IBD were asked to complete the IBD-disk and a visual analogue scale of IBD daily-life burden (scored from 0–10, score >5 indicative of high burden). The internal consistency of IBD-disk, correlation with IBD daily life burden and disease activity (assessed by partial Mayo score and Harvey Bradshaw Index in patients with ulcerative colitis [UC] and Crohn’s disease [CD], respectively) and diagnostic performance of IBD-disk to detect high burden were analyzed. Results: Out of the 546 patients (mean age 40.33±13.74 years, 282 [51.6%] males) who completed the IBD-disk, 464 (84.98%) had UC and the remaining (n=82, 15.02%) had CD. A total of 311 patients (291 UC and 20 CD; 56.95%) had active disease. The mean IBD-disk total score and IBD daily life burden were 18.39±15.23 and 2.45±2.02, respectively. The IBD-disk total score correlated strongly with the IBD daily life burden (ρ=0.94, P<0.001), moderately with partial Mayo score (ρ=0.50) and weakly with Harvey Bradshaw Index (ρ=0.34). The IBD-disk total score >30 predicted high IBD daily-life burden. Conclusions: The IBD-disk accurately predicts the daily life burden and parallels disease activity in patients with IBD and can be applied in clinical practice. (Intest Res, Published online)
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Background/Aims Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasingly being recognized in elderly patients. Data on clinical spectrum of elderly-onset IBD patients is lacking from India.
Methods A cross-sectional retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of patients diagnosed with IBD was conducted at 2 centers in India. The clinical spectrum of elderly-onset IBD including demographic profile (age and sex), clinical presentation, disease characteristics (disease behavior and severity, extent of disease), and treatment were recorded and compared with adult-onset IBD.
Results During the study period, 3,922 (3,172 ulcerative colitis [UC] and 750 Crohn’s disease [CD]) patients with IBD were recorded in the database. A total of 186 patients (4.74%; 116 males [62.36%]) had elderly-onset IBD (69.35% UC and 30.64% CD). Diarrhea, blood in stools, nocturnal frequency and pain abdomen were the commonest presentations for UC, whereas pain abdomen, weight loss and diarrhea were the most frequent symptoms in CD. For both elderly onset UC and CD, majority of the patients had moderately severe disease. Left-sided colitis was the commonest disease location in UC. Isolated ileal disease and inflammatory behavior were the most common disease location and behavior, respectively in CD. 5-Aminosalicylates were the commonest prescribed drug for both elderly onset UC and CD. Thiopurines and biologics were used infrequently. Prevalence of colorectal cancer was higher in elderly onset IBD.
Conclusions Elderly onset IBD is not uncommon in India. Both the elderly onset UC and CD were milder, with no significant differences in disease characteristics (disease extent, location and behavior) when compared to adult-onset IBD. Colorectal cancer was more common in elderly onset IBD.
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Background/Aims Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is recommended for induction of remission in pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD). However, it is not currently recommended for inducing remission in adults. This report describes the use of 12-week EEN for induction of remission in anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) refractory adult CD.
Methods This is a retrospective analysis of adults with moderate to severe active (Crohn’s Disease Activity Index [CDAI] >220) anti-TNF refractory CD, who received EEN for 12 weeks between April 2018 and March 2019 at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India. Primary outcomes included achievement of clinical remission and fistula healing at 12 weeks. Improvement in inflammatory markers and nutritional status were the secondary end points.
Results Out of 23 patients who received anti-TNF agents, 7 (30.4%) were refractory and were offered EEN as a salvage therapy. Six patients (66.7% females, mean age 25.6±6.5 years) consented. Four patients (66.6%) achieved clinical remission (CDAI <150). Mean CDAI of patients decreased significantly after 12 weeks of EEN (388.8±74.8 vs. 160.0±25.2, P<0.001). Perianal fistulas showed clinical response (drainage decreased by >50%), though none achieved remission. Entero-enteric fistulae showed complete healing. Mean body mass index improved from 15.6±3.1 to 18.9±1.9 kg/m2 at week 12 (P=0.003). Hemoglobin and serum albumin also improved from 8.2±1.1 g/dL and 2.8±0.3 g/dL at baseline to 12.6±0.6 g/dL and 3.6±0.5 g/dL post-EEN respectively (P<0.001 and P=0.006 respectively).
Conclusions EEN appears to be an effective and well tolerated therapy for induction of remission in anti-TNF refractory adult CD. More data from prospective trials with larger number of patients is required.
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