...the maneuvers are often difficult to follow and carry out and may require some practice to get them right. ...it is not clear why the authors deemed PTNS a success. Bowel frequency is not ...associated with an improvement in quality of life and is likely the least important parameter (6).
The utility of measuring thiopurine metabolites (TM) to individualize therapy in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has not been defined, and the evidence regarding its use in clinical practice is ...heterogeneous. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the mean concentration of TM between patients in biochemical remission and those not in remission.
A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for keywords related to TM and AIH. Two reviewers independently searched and selected studies comparing the levels of 6-methyl mercaptopurine (6-MMP) and 6-thioguanine nucleotide (6-TGN) and their ratio in cases of AIH in remission and otherwise. Meta-analysis was performed by calculating the weighted mean difference using the inverse variance heterogeneity model.
A total of 1066 records were identified through systematic search; of which, 7 (n = 3 pediatric, n = 4 adults) were considered for inclusion, and 442 TM measurements (n = 128 in children) were analyzed. Mean 6-TGN levels were significantly higher among patients in remission than in those who were not, with a pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) of 15.67 95% confidence interval (CI), 6.68-24.66 pmol/8 × 108 red blood cells (RBC). The difference was higher in the pediatric age group (WMD, 56.11; 95% CI, 13.60-98.62) than in adults (WMD, 13.77; 95% CI, 4.58-22.97). There was no significant difference in the 6-MMP levels (WMD, -431.7; 95% CI, -1237.4 to 373.9 pmol/8 × 108 RBC; I2 = 82%; n = 3 studies) or 6-MMP/6-TGN ratio among the patients who were in biochemical remission and those who were not (WMD, -0.97; 95% CI, -5.77 to 3.84; I2 = 82%; n = 3 studies).
This meta-analysis suggests a link between 6-TGN levels and biochemical remission in AIH. Further high-quality studies are required to determine the therapeutic cutoff of 6-TGN.
The term inflammatory bowel disease-unclassified (IBDU) is used when an individual has chronic colitis but cannot be sub-typed into ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) on the basis of the ...clinical, endoscopic, imaging and histopathological features. On follow-up a proportion of patients with IBDU are re-classified as CD or UC. There has been considerable variability in the frequency and reclassification rates of pediatric IBDU in published literature.
PubMed and Scopus and were searched for publications related to Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (PIBD) published between Jan,2014 and July,2021. Two reviewers independently searched and selected studies reporting the frequency of IBDU and/or their re-classification. The pooled prevalence was expressed as proportion and 95%CI. Meta-analysis was performed using the inverse variance heterogeneity model.
A total of 2750 studies were identified through a systematic search of which 27 studies were included in this systematic review. The overall pooled frequency of IBDU (n=16064) was found to be 7.1% (95%CI 5.8-8.5%). There was no variation in IBDU frequency by geographical location. Seven studies (n=5880) were included in the IBDU re-classification analysis. Overall, 50% (95%CI 41-60%) children with IBDU were re-classified on follow-up. Amongst these 32.7% (95% 21-44%) were re-classified to UC and 17% (95%CI 12-22%) were re-classified to CD.
IBDU comprises 7.1% of PIBD at initial diagnosis. Half of these children are re-classified into UC or CD on follow-up with a higher likelihood of re-classification to UC as compared to CD.
Abstract
Background
In recent years, treatment strategies for ulcerative colitis have evolved with an early step-up approach, the availability of biologicals, and therapeutic drug monitoring.
We ...carried out this study to evaluate the effect of these changes on disease outcomes.
Methods
In this retrospective review, 2 time periods were defined: Group 1 (2005–2010) and Group 2 (2011–2016). Baseline demographic, endoscopic parameters, and medication use were compared. Overall colectomy rate, number of disease flares per year, and number of hospital admissions per year were compared between the 2 groups.
Results
Group 1 had 71 children, and in children in Group 2. The use of 5-ASA increased in Group 2 (Group 2, 99.2% vs. Group 1, 84.5%, P = 0.0007). In addition, infliximab and thiopurines were introduced earlier in the disease course.
The 2-year cumulative probability of colectomy decreased from 14% to 3% (P = 0.02) between the 2 periods. No change in median number of flares per year Group 1, 0.41 (IQR 0.6) vs. Group 2, 0.62 (IQR 0.91), P = 0.28 or median number of hospital admissions per year Group 1, 0.30 (IQR 0.77) vs. Group 2, 0.21 (IQR 0.75), P = 0.52 was seen.
Thereafter, we proceeded to identify the changes in treatment strategies that were responsible for the reduction in colectomy and we found that the use of infliximab OR 3.7 (95% CI 1.1–11.7), P = 0.02, was independently associated with it.
Conclusions
A reduction in 2-year colectomy rates has been observed in patients with pediatric ulcerative colitis since biologics have become available for its treatment. The numbers of disease-flares rates and hospital admissions remain unchanged.
We found that colectomy rates have significantly reduced in pediatric ulcerative colitis since 2012. The cause being multifactorial, with the introduction of biologics an important contributor. However, number of disease flares and hospital admission rates remain unchanged.
WHO defines malnutrition as severe if the z-scores are less than - 3 Standard deviation (SD), moderate if between - 2 and - 3 SD and mild if between - 2 SD to - 1 SD. This study was aimed to assess ...nutritional aspects of Indian children suffering from EB and to evaluate the effect of severity of EB on the severity of malnutrition. In this study, pediatric EB patients were evaluated prospectively for baseline nutritional status using anthropometric parameters and WHO growth charts, and its correlation with disease severity using instrument for Scoring Clinical Outcomes for Research of Epidermolysis Bullosa-iscorEB. In second phase, an individualized diet chart was given to meet the energy, protein and micronutrients needs and its effects were observed after 6 months. The median age of participants was 3 years (IQR-9). Of 57 patients, malnutrition was seen in 40.35% patients (22.81%-moderate and 17.54%-severe), and significantly correlated with iscorEB (r = 0.45, p < 0.0001). On bivariate regression analysis, iscorEB was independently associated with moderate-to-severe malnutrition (p = 0.047; OR 1.038, CI 1.011-1.066). iscorEB enabled the identification of patients with moderate-to-severe malnutrition with an Area Under Receiver Operating Curve (AUROC) of 0.72 (95%CI 0.58-0.85; p < 0.005). In phase 2, there was significant improvement in nutritional status in children with recessive dystrophic EB (RDEB) and dominant dystrophic EB (DDEB) subtype (p < 0.0001). The severity of malnutrition in EB children significantly correlates with disease severity, and is an independent predictor of moderate-to-severe malnutrition.