Effects of preoperative anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha infusion timing on postoperative surgical site infection in inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Safety Analysis of Preoperative Anti-TNF-α Therapy in Pediatric IBD After Intestinal Resection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Biological agents have transformed the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, intestinal resection is still unavoidable in complicated IBD. It is still under debate whether antitumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is related to higher postoperative complications in children with IBD. Therefore, we aimed to analyze data on preoperative anti-TNF-α and postoperative complications in pediatric IBD.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic literature search in 4 databases for studies that compared the incidence of postoperative complications between children with IBD who received anti-TNF-α treatment within 12 weeks prior to intestinal resection and who did not receive anti-TNF-α before the operation. To analyze this question, pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Odds ratios higher than 1 mean higher complication rate among children treated with preoperative anti-TNF-α, whereas an OR lower than 1 means lower complication rate. The I² value was calculated to measure the strength of the between-study heterogeneity, where a smaller percentage means the lower heterogeneity.

RESULTS

We found 8 eligible articles with 526 pediatric patients with IBD. The primary outcome was the overall complication. The pooled OR of overall complications was 1.38 (95% CI, 0.10-18.76; P = .65; I2 = 34%) in contrast, the OR of infectious and noninfectious complications were 0.59 (95% CI, 0.21-1.69; P = .16; I2 = 0%) and 0.48 (95% CI, 0.18-1.25; p = .09; I2 = 0%), although both showed a nonsignificant result.

CONCLUSION

There is no significant association between preoperative anti-TNF-α therapy and postoperative complications in children with IBD after intestinal resection. However, the evidence is low due to the low number of studies investigating this question.

ECCO Topical Review: Roadmap to Optimal Peri-Operative Care in IBD

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Despite the advances in medical therapies, a significant proportion of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] require surgical intervention. This Topical Review aims to offer expert consensus practice recommendations for peri-operative care to optimize outcomes of IBD patients who undergo surgery.

METHODS

A multidisciplinary panel of IBD healthcare providers systematically reviewed aspects relevant to peri-operative care in IBD. Consensus statements were developed using Delphi methodology.

RESULTS

A total of 20 current practice positions were developed following systematic review of the current literature covering use of medication in the peri-operative period, nutritional assessment and intervention, physical and psychological rehabilitation and prehabilitation, and immediate postoperative care.

CONCLUSION

Peri-operative planning and optimization of the patient are imperative to ensure favourable outcomes and reduced morbidity. This Topical Review provides practice recommendations applicable in the peri-operative period in IBD patients undergoing surgery.

The Effect of Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Therapy within 12 Weeks Prior to Surgery on Postoperative Complications in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The rate of abdominal surgical interventions and associated postoperative complications in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients is still substantially high. There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not patients who undergo treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) agents may have an increased risk for general and surgical postoperative complications. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in order to assess the effect of anti-TNF-α treatment within 12 weeks (washout period) prior to abdominal surgery on 30-day postoperative complications in patients with IBD. The results of previously published meta-analyses examining the effect of preoperative anti-TNF-α treatment on postoperative complications reported conflicting findings which is why we specifically focus on the effect of anti-TNF-α treatment within 12 weeks prior to surgery. PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, World Health Organization Trial Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov and reference lists were searched (June 1995−February 2022) to identify studies, investigating effects of anti-TNF-α treatment prior to abdominal surgery on postoperative complications in IBD patients. Pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated and subgroup analyses were performed. In this case, 55 cohort studies (22,714 patients) were included. Overall, postoperative complications (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.04−1.45; p = 0.02), readmission (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.11−1.73; p = 0.004), and intra-abdominal septic complications (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.44−2.49; p < 0.00001) were significantly higher for anti-TNF-α-treated patients. Significantly higher intra-abdominal abscesses and readmission were found for anti-TNF-α-treated CD patients (p = 0.05; p = 0.002). Concomitant treatment with immunosuppressives in <50% of anti-TNF-α-treated patients was associated with significantly lower mortality rates (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.12−0.83; p = 0.02). Anti-TNF-α treatment within 12 weeks prior to surgery is associated with higher short-term postoperative complication rates (general and surgical) for patients with IBD, especially CD.

Update of the PANCCO clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in the adult population

Ulcerative colitis (US) is a chronic disease of unknown etiology. It is incurable and its clinical course is intermittent, characterized by periods of remission and relapse. The prevalence and incidence of the disease has been increasing worldwide. The update presented herein includes the participation of healthcare professionals, decision-makers, and a representative of the patients, all of whom declared their conflicts of interest. Answerable clinical questions were formulated, and the outcomes were graded. The information search was conducted on the Medline/PubMed, Embase, Epistemonikos, and LILACS databases, and covered grey literature sources, as well. The search was updated on November 30, 2020, with no restrictions regarding date or language. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) classification system was implemented to establish the strength of the recommendation and quality of evidence. A formal consensus was developed, based on the RAND/UCLA methodology and the document was peer reviewed. The short version of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis in the Adult Population is presented herein, together with the supporting evidence and respective recommendations. In mild-to-moderate UC, budesonide MMX is an option when treatment with 5-ASA fails, and before using systemic steroids. In moderate-to-severe UC, infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab, ustekinumab, and tofacitinib can be used as first-line therapy. If there is anti-TNF therapy failure, ustekinumab and tofacitinib provide the best results. In patients with antibiotic-refractory pouchitis, anti-TNFs are the treatment of choice.

Orphan patients with inflammatory bowel disease - when we treat beyond evidence

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition that requires continuous medical treatment. To date, the medical management of patients with moderately-to-severely active IBD who develop dependence or resistance to corticosteroids is based on immunomodulator drugs. Such therapies are licenced after passing through three phases of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and are subsequently adopted in clinical practice. However, the real-life population of IBD patients who require these therapies can significantly differ from those included in RCTs. As a matter of fact, there is a number of exclusion criteria – nearly ubiquitous in all RCTs – that prevent the enrolment of specific patients: Chronic refractory pouchitis or isolated proctitis in ulcerative colitis, short-bowel syndrome and stomas in Crohn’s disease, ileorectal anastomosis in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and elderly age are some representative examples. In this frontier article, we aim to give an overview of current literature on this topic, in order to address the main knowledge gaps that need to be filled in the upcoming years.

Vitamin D/VDR signaling inhibits colitis by suppressing HIF-1α activation in colonic epithelial cells

Vitamin D/vitamin D receptor (VDR) signaling is reported to have a protective effect on the onset or progression of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) activation is demonstrated to be closely associated with chemical-induced colitis. However, the association between vitamin D/VDR signaling and HIF-1α on IBD development remains a mystery. Here, we showed that HIF-1α expression was largely increased in the colonic epithelial cells of diseased tissues from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Consistently, HIF-1α activation was also improved in colonic epithelial cells upon TNFα treatment in a NF-κB pathway-dependent manner. HIF-1α inhibitors treatments ameliorated 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)- or dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in animal models. In cell or colitis animal models, vitamin D/VDR signaling suppressed HIF-1α overexpression in colonic epithelial cells via regulating NF-κB pathway, resulting in the inhibition of IFNγ and IL-1β overproductions in these cells. Collectively, these data suggest that vitamin D/VDR signaling relieves colitis development in animal models, at least in part, by suppressing HIF-1α expression in colonic epithelial cells.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study demonstrates vitamin D/VDR signaling inhibits colitis by suppressing HIF-1α activation in colonic epithelial cells. Since the effect of vitamin D/VDR signaling is only apparent on patients who seem to be vitamin D deficient, the benefits of vitamin D supplementation in patients who are not vitamin D deficient need to be proven.

Conservative management of spontaneous intra-abdominal abscess in Crohn's disease: Outcome and prognostic factors

OBJECTIVE

To compare the outcomes of different treatments for spontaneous intra-abdominal abscesses (IAA) in active Crohn's disease (CD).

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of patients with CD between January 2007 and December 2018 was performed in two Belgian inflammatory bowel disease centers. Successful conservative management was defined as complete resolution of abscesses without the need for bowel resection. The primary outcome was suboptimal evolution, defined as a composite outcome of recurrence of abscess, postoperative complications or the need for a non-elective resection.

RESULTS

Forty CD patients presenting with 43 independent episodes of spontaneous IAA development were included. One underwent immediate bowel resection. In all other 42 cases a conservative approach was taken, which led to a complete abscess resolution rate of 28.6% (12/42). The remaining abscesses required bowel resection. Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agent use was associated with successful conservative management (odds ratio [OR] 13.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 11.19-15.52, P = 0.006), while the opposite trend was found for corticosteroids (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.02-1.26, P = 0.055). There was a trend towards suboptimal evolution in case of previous bowel resection (OR 4.77, 95% CI 0.77-29.66, P = 0.094) or in patients aged above 50 years (OR 5.17, 95% CI 0.86-30.91, P = 0.072).

CONCLUSIONS

Bowel resection appears to be inevitable in most CD patients presenting with IAA. An attempt at conservative treatment may be particularly successful with anti-TNF agents in younger patients who have not undergone previous bowel resection. Large-scale prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.