A Comprehensive Review of the Diagnosis and Pharmacological Management of Crohn's Disease in the Elderly Population

Octa-nonagenarians can perform video capsule endoscopy safely and with a higher diagnostic yield than 65-79-year-old patients

BACKGROUND

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is an effective, noninvasive modality for small bowel (SB) investigation. Its usage in the older adults is rising. However, data in octa-nonagenarians regarding diagnostic yield and motility are lacking. Our aim was to evaluate and compare safety and efficacy of VCE between age subgroups of older adult patients.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of prospectively documented data. All consecutive VCEs of patients ≥65 years (01/2010-12/2017) were included. Patients unable to swallow the capsule or videos with significant recording technical malfunction were excluded. The cohort was divided into the younger group aged 65-79 years old and octa-nonagenarians aged ≥80 years old. Indications for referral, diagnostic yield and transit times were compared between groups.

RESULTS

A total of 535 VCEs were performed in 499 older adult patients (51.2% males); 82.8% were 65-79 years old and 17.2% were ≥80 years old. The ≥80-year-old group had higher rates of clinically significant findings (52.7% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.025), active bleeding (12.5% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.053) and angioectasia (36.0% vs. 23.4%, p = 0.014). Crohn's disease was newly diagnosed in approximately 8% of the entire cohort and 12% of the ≥80 years old. Anemia was the most common indication in both groups, followed by overt bleeding in the ≥80-year-old group (25% vs. 9.9% in 65-79-year-old group, p < 0.001) and Crohn's disease in the 65-79 years old (17.2% vs. 5.4% in ≥80 years old, p = 0.004). Groups were comparable in transit time and cecal documentation rates.

CONCLUSIONS

In octa-nonagenarians, VCE is as safe as in younger older-adults with a higher diagnostic yield of significant and treatable conditions.

Clinical Considerations Regarding the Use of Thiopurines in Older Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The number of older patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing due to both improvements in the life expectancy of patients with long-lasting IBD and later onset of the disease. In spite of a less aggressive IBD phenotype, disease management in older patients is hampered by comorbidities and polypharmacy (which increase the risk of drug-related adverse events and errors in medication intake) and also by an increased risk of the infections and malignancies associated with the immunosuppressive drugs that are frequently used to treat IBD. Thiopurines are the most frequently used immunosuppressive drugs in IBD, though they are often discontinued due to adverse events. However, when tolerated, thiopurines are efficient in the maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. In fact, thiopurines still have a role to play in the treatment algorithm of older patients with IBD because anti-tumor necrosis factor agents do not provide clear advantages for this population in terms of their safety profile, while data on the new biological drugs are still scarce. In this article, we review the optimal use of thiopurines in older patients with IBD.

Preoperative factors associated with prolonged postoperative in-hospital length of stay in patients with Crohn's disease undergoing intestinal resection or strictureplasty

PURPOSE

To investigate factors that influence postoperative in-hospital length of stay (LOS) in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) undergoing bowel surgery. Furthermore, the study aimed to evaluate LOS as a surrogate for postoperative outcome.

METHODS

This is a multicentre retrospective cohort study. Inclusion criteria were adult patients with CD who underwent bowel surgery with either anastomosis or stricturoplasty. All timings of surgeries were included regardless of the method of access to the abdominal cavities. Patients with stoma were excluded. Demographic data, preoperative medications, previous operations for CD, preoperative sepsis, and operation were recorded. Primary outcome was LOS while secondary outcome variable was postoperative complications.

RESULTS

A total of 449 patients who underwent abdominal surgery for CD were included. Of the 449 patients, 265 were female (59%). Median age was 37 years (IQR = 20), median LOS was 7 days (IQR = 6). Patients with longer LOS had higher rates of re-laparotomy/re-laparoscopy (45/228 (19.7%) versus 9/219 (4.1%) p = 0.01). In multivariate analysis, age (OR = 1.024 [CI 95% 1.007-1.041], p = 0.005), preoperative intra-abdominal abscess (OR = 0.39 [CI 95% 0.185-0.821], p = 0.013), and previous laparotomy/laparoscopy (OR = 0.57 [CI 95% 0.334-0.918], p = 0.021) were associated with prolonged LOS. LOS correlated with postoperative complications after adjustment for age, gender, previous laparotomy/laparoscopy, and preoperative intra-abdominal abscesses (OR = 1.28 [CI 95% 1.199-1.366], p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Age, preoperative intra-abdominal abscess, and previous laparotomy/laparoscopy significantly prolonged LOS. LOS correlated with postoperative complications and can therefore be used in epidemiological or register-based studies as a surrogate for postoperative outcome.