Estimates of the diagnostic performance of serologic testing and HLA-DQ typing for detecting celiac disease have mainly come from case-control studies.
To define the performance of serologic testing ...and HLA-DQ typing prospectively.
Prospective cohort study.
University hospital.
Patients referred for small-bowel biopsy for the diagnosis of celiac disease.
Celiac serologic testing (antigliadin antibodies AGA, antitransglutaminase antibodies TGA, and antiendomysium antibodies EMA) and HLA-DQ typing.
Diagnostic performance of serologic testing and HLA-DQ typing compared with a reference standard of abnormal histologic findings and clinical resolution after a gluten-free diet.
Sixteen of 463 participants had celiac disease (prevalence, 3.46% 95% CI, 1.99% to 5.55%). A positive result on both TGA and EMA testing had a sensitivity of 81% (CI, 54% to 95.9%), specificity of 99.3% (CI, 98.0% to 99.9%), and negative predictive value of 99.3% (CI, 98.0% to 99.9%). Testing positive for either HLA-DQ type maximized sensitivity (100% CI, 79% to 100%) and negative predictive value (100% CI, 98.6% to 100%), whereas testing negative for both minimized the negative likelihood ratio (0.00 CI, 0.00 to 0.40) and posttest probability (0% CI, 0% to 1.4%). The addition of HLA-DQ typing to TGA and EMA testing, and the addition of serologic testing to HLA-DQ typing, did not change test performance compared with either testing strategy alone.
Few cases of celiac disease precluded meaningful comparisons of testing strategies.
In a patient population referred for symptoms and signs of celiac disease with a prevalence of celiac disease of 3.46%, TGA and EMA testing were the most sensitive serum antibody tests and a negative HLA-DQ type excluded the diagnosis. However, the addition of HLA-DQ typing to TGA and EMA testing, and the addition of serologic testing to HLA-DQ typing, provided the same measures of test performance as either testing strategy alone.
AIM: To show the safety and effectiveness of endo-scopic ultrasound(EUS)-guided drainage of pelvic ab-scess that were inaccessible for percutaneous drainage. METHODS: Eight consecutive patients with ...pelvic abscess that were not amenable to drainage under computed tomography(CT) guidance were referred for EUS-guided drainage. The underlying cause of the abscesses included diverticulitis in 4, postsurgical surgi-cal complications in 2, iatrogenic after enema in 1, and Crohn’s disease in 1 patient. Abscesses were all drained under EUS guidance via a transrectal or transsigmoidal approach. RESULTS: EUS-guided placement of one or two 7 Fr pigtail stents was technically successful and uneventful in all 8 patients(100%). The abscess was perisigmoidal in 2 and was multilocular in 4 patients. All procedures were performed under conscious sedation and without fluoroscopic monitoring. Fluid samples were success-fully retrieved for microbiological studies in all cases and antibiotic policy was adjusted according to cultureresults in 5 patients. Follow-up CT showed complete re-covery and disappearance of abscess. The stents were retrieved by sigmoidoscopy in only two patients and had spontaneously migrated to outside in six patients. All drainage procedures resulted in a favourable clinical outcome. All patients became afebrile within 24 h after drainage and the mean duration of the postprocedure hospital stay was 8 d(range 4-14). Within a median follow up period of 38 mo(range 12-52) no recurrence was reported. CONCLUSION: We conclude that EUS-guided drain-age of pelvic abscesses without fluoroscopic monitoring is a minimally invasive, safe and effective approach that should be considered in selected patients.
AIM: To evaluate computed tomography (CT) findings, useful to suggest the presence of refractory celiac disease (RCD) and enteropathy associated T cell lymphoma (EATL). METHODS: Coeliac disease (CD) ...patients were divided into two groups. Group Ⅰ : uncomplicated CD (n = 14) and RCD type Ⅰ (n = 10). Group Ⅱ : RCD type Ⅱ (n = 15) and EATL (n = 7). RESULTS: Both groups showed classic signs of CD on CT. Intussusception was seen in 1 patient in group Ⅰ vs 5 in group Ⅱ (P = 0.06). Lymphadenopathy was seen in 5 patients in group Ⅱ vs no patients in group Ⅰ (P = 0.01). Increased number of small mesenteric vessels was noted in 20 patients in group Ⅰ vs Ⅱ in group 11 (P = 0.02). Eleven patients (50%) in group 11 had a splenic volume 〈 122 cm^3 vs 4 in group Ⅰ (14%), 10 patients in group Ⅰ had a splenic volume 〉 196 cm^3 (66.7%) vs 5 in group Ⅱ (33.3%) P = 0.028. CONCLUSION: CT scan is a useful tool in discriminating between CD and (Pre) EATL. RCD Ⅱ and EATL showed more bowel wall thickening, lymphadenopathy and intussusception, less increase in number of small mesenteric vessels and a smaller splenic volume compared with CD and RCD Ⅰ.
Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for large colorectal polyps is in most cases the preferred treatment to prevent progression to colorectal carcinoma. The most common complication after EMR is ...delayed bleeding, occurring in 7% overall and in approximately 10% of polyps ≥ 2 cm in the proximal colon. Previous research has suggested that prophylactic clipping of the mucosal defect after EMR may reduce the incidence of delayed bleeding in polyps with a high bleeding risk.
The CLIPPER trial is a multicenter, parallel-group, single blinded, randomized controlled superiority study. A total of 356 patients undergoing EMR for large (≥ 2 cm) non-pedunculated polyps in the proximal colon will be included and randomized to the clip group or the control group. Prophylactic clipping will be performed in the intervention group to close the resection defect after the EMR with a distance of < 1 cm between the clips. Primary outcome is delayed bleeding within 30 days after EMR. Secondary outcomes are recurrent or residual polyps and clip artifacts during surveillance colonoscopy after 6 months, as well as cost-effectiveness of prophylactic clipping and severity of delayed bleeding.
The CLIPPER trial is a pragmatic study performed in the Netherlands and is powered to determine the real-time efficacy and cost-effectiveness of prophylactic clipping after EMR of proximal colon polyps ≥ 2 cm in the Netherlands. This study will also generate new data on the achievability of complete closure and the effects of clip placement on scar surveillance after EMR, in order to further promote the debate on the role of prophylactic clipping in everyday clinical practice.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03309683 . Registered on 13 October 2017. Start recruitment: 05 March 2018. Planned completion of recruitment: 31 August 2021.
To define the association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and coeliac disease in Dutch patients.
A total of 104 consecutive patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis underwent coeliac serological tests ...(antigliadins, transglutaminase and endomysium antibodies) and HLA-DQ typing. Small intestinal biopsy was performed when any of coeliac serological tests was positive. On the other hand, 184 patients with coeliac disease were subjected to thyroid biochemical (thyroid stimulating hormone and free thyroxine) and thyroid serological tests (thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase antibodies).
Of 104 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, sixteen (15%) were positive for coeliac serology and five patients with documented villous atrophy were diagnosed with coeliac disease (4.8%; 95% CI 0.7-8.9). HLA-DQ2 (and/or -DQ8) was present in all the five and 53 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (50%; 95% CI 43-62). Of 184 patients with coeliac disease, 39 (21%) were positive for thyroid serology. Based on thyroid biochemistry, the 39 patients were subclassified into euthyroidism in ten (5%; 95% CI 2-9), subclinical hypothyroidism in seven (3.8%; 95% CI 1.8-7.6), and overt hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's thyroiditis) in 22 (12%; 95% CI 8-16). Moreover, four patients with coeliac disease had Graves' disease (2%; 95% CI 0.8-5) and one patient had post-partum thyroiditis.
The data from a Dutch population confirm the association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and coeliac disease. Screening patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis for coeliac disease and vice versa is recommended.
AIM: To describe the characteristics of Dutch patients with chronic.inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) first diagnosed above 60 years of age-a disease also known as old-age colitis (OAC) and to ...highlight a condition that has a similar appearance to IBD, namely segmen- tal colitis associated with diverticular disease (SCAD). METHODS: A retrospective longitudinal survey of patient demographic and clinical characteristics, disease characteristics, diagnostic methods, management and course of disease was performed. The median follow-up period was 10 years. RESULTS: Of a total of 1100 IBD patients attending the Department of Gastroenterology, 59 (50) median age 82 years (range 64-101); 25 male (42%) were identified. These patients were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (n = 37, 61%), Crohn's disease (n = 14, 24%), and indeterminate colitis (n = 8, 15%). Remission was induced in 40 (68%) patients within a median interval of 6 mo (range 1-21) and immunosuppressive therapy was well tolerated. Histological evaluation based on many biopsy samples and the course of the disease led to other diagnosis, namely SCAD instead of IBD in five (8%) patients. CONCLUSION: OAC is not an infrequent problem for the gastroenterologist, and should be considered in the evaluation of older patients with clinical features suggestive of IBD. Extra awareness and extensive biopsy sampling are required in order to avoid an erroneous diagnosis purely based on histological mimicry of changes seen in SCAD, when diagnosing IBD in the presence of diverticulosis coli.
AIM: To investigate the effect of vitamin supplements on homocysteine levels in patients with celiac disease. METHODS: Vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, and fasting plasma homocysteine levels were ...measured in 51 consecutive adults with celiac disease median (range) age 56 (18-63) years; 40% men, 26 (51%) had villous atrophy, and 25 (49%) used B-vitamin supplements and 50 healthy control individuals matched for age and sex. Finally, the C677T polymorphism of 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) was evaluated in 46 patients with celiac disease and all control individuals. RESULTS: Patients with celiac disease and using vitamin supplements had higher serum vitamin B6 (P = 0.003),folate (P 〈 0.001), and vitamin B12 (P = 0.012) levels than patients who did not or healthy controls (P = 0.035, P 〈 0.001, P = 0.007, for vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin B12, respectively). Lower plasma homocysteine levels were found in patients using vitamin supplements than in patients who did not (P = 0.001) or healthy controls (P = 0.003). However, vitamin B6 and folate, not vitamin B12, were significantly and independently associated with homocysteine levels. Twenty-four (48%) of 50 controls and 23 (50%) of 46 patients with celiac disease carried the MTHFR thermolabile variant T-allele (P = 0.89). CONCLUSION: Homocysteine levels are dependent on Marsh classification and the regular use of B-vitamin supplements is effective in reduction of homocysteine levels in patients with celiac disease and should be considered in disease management.
Lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) are believed to clinically improve endoscopic transluminal drainage of infected necrosis when compared with double-pigtail plastic stents. However, comparative data ...from prospective studies are very limited.
Patients with infected necrotising pancreatitis, who underwent an endoscopic step-up approach with LAMS within a multicentre prospective cohort study were compared with the data of 51 patients in the randomised TENSION trial who had been assigned to the endoscopic step-up approach with double-pigtail plastic stents. The clinical study protocol was otherwise identical for both groups. Primary end point was the need for endoscopic transluminal necrosectomy. Secondary end points included mortality, major complications, hospital stay and healthcare costs.
A total of 53 patients were treated with LAMS in 16 hospitals during 27 months. The need for endoscopic transluminal necrosectomy was 64% (n=34) and was not different from the previous trial using plastic stents (53%, n=27)), also after correction for baseline characteristics (OR 1.21 (95% CI 0.45 to 3.23)). Secondary end points did not differ between groups either, which also included bleeding requiring intervention-5 patients (9%) after LAMS placement vs 11 patients (22%) after placement of plastic stents (relative risk 0.44; 95% CI 0.16 to 1.17). Total healthcare costs were also comparable (mean difference -€6348, bias-corrected and accelerated 95% CI -€26 386 to €10 121).
Our comparison of two patient groups from two multicentre prospective studies with a similar design suggests that LAMS do not reduce the need for endoscopic transluminal necrosectomy when compared with double-pigtail plastic stents in patients with infected necrotising pancreatitis. Also, the rate of bleeding complications was comparable.