Surgery for luminal Crohn’s disease

The degree of bowel remission predicts phenotype progression in Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND

Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are at risk of progressing from inflammatory to stricturing and penetrating phenotypes. The influence of the depth of remission on the risk of progression has not been adequately evaluated.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study including surgically naïve CD patients with inflammatory phenotype evaluated concomitantly by magnetic resonance enterography and colonoscopy. The degree of remission was correlated with the risk of progressing to stricturing and penetrating phenotypes.

RESULTS

Three hundred nineteen CD patients were included: 27.0% with transmural remission, 16.0% with isolated endoscopic remission, 14.4% with isolated radiologic remission, and 42.6% without remission. Patients with transmural remission presented the lowest rates of phenotype progression (1.2%), with a significant difference compared to isolated radiologic remission (10.9%, p = 0.019), to isolated endoscopic remission (19.6%, p ≤ 0.001), and to no remission (46.3%, p ≤ 0.001). In multivariate regression analysis, transmural remission (OR 0.017 95% CI 0.002-0.135, p < 0.001), isolated radiologic remission (OR 0.139 95% CI 0.049-0.396, p < 0.001), and isolated endoscopic remission (OR 0.301 95% CI 0.123-0.736, p = 0.008) resulted in lower rates of phenotype progression compared to no remission. No patient with transmural or isolated radiologic remission progressed to penetrating phenotypes.

CONCLUSION

The degree of bowel remission correlates with the risk of phenotype progression. Patients with transmural remission are at the lowest risk of progressing to stricturing and penetrating phenotypes.

A nomogram to predict stoma creation in elective surgical resection for penetrating Crohn's disease

BACKGROUNDS

The decision to perform a stoma during surgical resection of penetrating Crohn's disease (CD) is a critical consideration. The objective of this study was to identify factors that influence stoma creation and develop a predictive nomogram model to assist surgeons in making optimal surgical decisions.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary center from December 1, 2012, to December 1, 2021, involving consecutive patients with penetrating CD who underwent elective surgical resection. The LASSO regression method was used to select preoperative predictors, and a nomogram was constructed using multivariate logistic regression. The performance of the nomogram was validated in an internal cohort by assessing its discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness.

RESULTS

The study included 405 cases in the training group and 135 cases in the validation group. Nine risk factors for stoma formation were identified, including disease location, fistula resulted from previous anastomosis, absence of preoperative exclusive enteral nutrition support, albumin levels below 35 g/L, C-reactive protein levels above 10 mg/L, hemoglobin levels below 100 g/L, perianal disease, internal fistula, and surgical approach. These risk factors were selected using the LASSO regression method, and a nomogram was developed based on them. The area under the curve and the coefficient of determination (R2) of the nomogram were 0.821 and 0.394, respectively. And the nomogram demonstrated good performance in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

The nomogram exhibited good predictive ability for stoma formation during elective surgical resection for penetrating CD, which can assist surgeons in making informed clinical decisions.

A new surgical technique: robotic intracorporeal Kono-S anastomosis in Crohn's - a safety and feasibility case series on short-term outcomes

AIM

The Kono-S anastomosis was introduced as a possible solution to the high surgical recurrence rates in Crohn's disease. However, this technique is known to be challenging, which is why it was originally performed in an extracorporeal setting. The aim of this case series was to assess safety, in terms of intra-/postoperative complications, and feasibility, in terms of successful performance of anastomosis, of a robot-assisted intracorporeal Kono-S anastomosis.

METHOD

This is a prospective single-centre consecutive case series. Patients were considered eligible if they were diagnosed with refractory Crohn's disease with significant bowel stenosis of the terminal ileum. All patients underwent robot-assisted intracorporeal Kono-S anastomosis. Perioperative care was provided according to the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery® protocol. Follow-up for postoperative complications was 30 days.

RESULTS

Twenty patients were included, of whom 11 (55%) were men. The median age was 30 years [interquartile range (IQR) 22-51 years] and the median BMI was 25 kg/m2 (IQR 19-28 kg/m2). Intracorporeal Kono-S anastomosis was successfully performed in all cases. The median operating time was 155 min (IQR 144-176 min) and the median length of stay was 3 days (IQR 1-5 days). No conversions or 30-day mortality were observed. One patient experienced anastomotic leakage, which was treated with radiologically guided drainage. A total of three patients experienced postoperative complications in the first 30 days.

CONCLUSION

Performance of intracorporeal robot-assisted Kono-S anastomosis seems safe and feasible in this case series for Crohn's disease. Since this is a first case series, further research is required to confirm results in a larger population-based cohort.

Surgical management of duodenal Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND

The case of Crohn's disease involving the duodenum is rare, and its surgical management requires a thorough understanding.

AIM

To investigate the surgical management of duodenal Crohn’s disease.

METHODS

We systematically reviewed patients diagnosed with duodenal Crohn's disease who underwent surgery in the Department of Geriatrics Surgery of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 1, 2004, to August 31, 2022. The general information, surgical procedures, prognosis, and other information of these patients were collected and summarized.

RESULTS

A total of 16 patients were diagnosed with duodenal Crohn’s disease, where 6 cases had primary duodenal Crohn’s disease, and 10 had secondary duodenal Crohn’s disease. Among patients with primary disease, 5 underwent duodenal bypass and gastrojejunostomy, and 1 received pancreaticoduodenectomy. Among those with a secondary disease, 6 underwent closure of duodenal defect and colectomy, 3 received duodenal lesion exclusion and right hemicolectomy, and 1 underwent duodenal lesion exclusion and double-lumen ileostomy.

CONCLUSION

Crohn's disease involving the duodenum is a rare condition. Different surgical management should be applied for patients with Crohn's disease presenting with different clinical manifestations.

Cytomegalovirus enteritis resistant to antiviral drugs improved following total colectomy

BACKGROUND

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, often subclinical in childhood, is reactivated during a state of cell-mediated immunodeficiency. In cases of organ damage, patients can require medical treatment for an infectious disease, generally through the use of antiviral drugs. There are no reports of surgical treatment in cases, where infection was found, and medical treatment was difficult. We encountered a case of CMV enteritis that was difficult to treat because of resistance to antivirals but improved after total colectomy.

CASE PRESENTATION

A previously healthy, 74-year-old woman visited a doctor with a chief complaint of watery diarrhea persisting for 2 weeks; she was transferred to our hospital because of hypoxemia and hypovolemic shock. Computed tomography scan indicated wall thickening over the entire colon and the patient was diagnosed with infectious colitis. Conservative and antibacterial therapies were started with fasting fluid replacement. Subsequently, bloody stools were observed 11 days after admission. Colonoscopy was then performed, which showed mucosal edema and longitudinal ulcer, while a histopathological examination of the colon mucosa revealed C7HRP positive on 22 days after admission. CMV enteritis was diagnosed, and the antiviral medication, ganciclovir, was started. Diseases causing immunosuppression and other possible causes of enteritis were also closely examined; however, all were negative. Furthermore, the patient's symptoms and her endoscopic findings did not improve with ganciclovir administration; therefore, the antiviral drug was changed to foscarnet. Unfortunately, the patient did not improve despite the additional administration of gamma globulin and methylprednisolone, and she was determined to have enteritis resistant to medical therapy. A total colon resection was performed 88 days after the admission. Her condition gradually stabilized postoperatively, and oral intake was initiated and tolerated. The patient was transferred to another hospital for rehabilitation for home discharge. She is now at home and has had no recurrences.

CONCLUSIONS

In previous reports of surgical treatment for CMV enteritis, many cases were initially undiagnosed, emergency surgery was performed after perforation or stenosis was recognized, and then CMV was diagnosed and treated. In CMV enteritis without immunodeficiency, surgical treatment may be an option if medical treatment is ineffective.

Role of perioperative nutritional status and enteral nutrition in predicting and preventing post-operative complications in patients with Crohn's disease

Background

Perioperative immune-nutritional status is correlated with post-operative outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate whether pre-operative nutritional status could predict post-operative complications in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and whether pre-operative enteral nutrition (EN) can prevent post-operative complications.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study analyzed the electronic health records of 173 patients diagnosed with CD in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China, between August 2015 and May 2021: 122 patients had pre-operative nutritional support while 51 patients underwent surgery without pre-operative nutritional support. The pre-operative nutritional status, disease activity index, disease-related data, frequency of multiple surgery, operative data, and post-operative characters in each group were compared to determine whether the nutritional support and status could significantly affect post-operative outcome. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to limit demographic inequalities between the two groups.

Results

After PSM, no statistically significant differences were found in pre-operative patient basic characteristics between the two groups of 47 patients (98 patients in all) included in this study. Overall, 21 patients developed 26 post-operative complications. In terms of pre-operative nutritional status, the level of serum albumin (ALB), pre-albumin (pre-ALB), and hemoglobin (Hb) in the nutrition group were statistically higher than that in the control group. We also observed a statistically significant decrease in post-operative complications, need for emergency surgery, and staged operations, while the rate of laparoscopic surgery was higher in the nutrition group compared to the non-nutritional group. Post-operative complications were related to pre-operative nutritional condition, which indicated that EN may improve the nutritional status and reduced the rate of post-operative complications.

Conclusion

Pre-operative nutritional status is correlated with post-operative outcomes while EN plays a positive role in preventing the post-operative complications. EN is useful for improving the pre-operative nutritional status and reducing the post-operative adverse events for CD patients undergoing surgery.

Post-operative prevention and monitoring of Crohn's disease recurrence

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are relapsing and remitting chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Although surgery for UC can provide a cure, surgery for CD is rarely curative. In the past few decades, research has identified risk factors for postsurgical CD recurrence, enabling patient risk stratification to guide monitoring and prophylactic treatment to prevent CD recurrence. A MEDLINE literature review identified articles regarding post-operative monitoring of CD recurrence after resection surgery. In this review, we discuss the evidence on risk factors for post-operative CD recurrence as well as suggestions on post-operative management.

Endoscopic Stenting in Crohn's Disease-related Strictures: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic progressive condition that is complicated by intestinal or colonic stricture in nearly 30% of cases within 10 years of the initial diagnosis. Endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) is associated with a risk of perforations and recurrence rates of up to 60% at 5 years. Endoscopic stenting has been used as an alternative to EBD, but data on its safety and efficacy are limited. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the outcomes of endoscopic stenting in CD-related strictures.

METHODS

A systematic and detailed search was run in January 2022 with the assistance of a medical librarian for studies reporting on outcomes of endoscopic stenting in CD-related strictures. Meta-analysis was performed using random-effects model, and results were expressed in terms of pooled proportions along with relevant 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Nine studies with 163 patients were included in the final analysis. Self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) including both partial and fully covered were used in 7 studies, whereas biodegradable stents were used in 2 studies. Pooled rate of clinical success and technical success was 60.9% (95% CI, 51.6-69.5; I2 = 13%) and 93% (95% CI, 87.3-96.3; I2 = 0%), respectively. Repeat stenting was needed in 9.6% of patients (95% CI, 5.3-16.7; I2 = 0%), whereas pooled rate of spontaneous stent migration was 43.9% (95% CI, 11.4-82.7; I2 = 88%). Pooled incidence of overall adverse events, proximal stent migration, perforation, and abdominal pain were 15.7%, 6.4%, 2.7%, and 17.9%, respectively. Mean follow-up period ranged from 3 months to 69 months.

DISCUSSION

Endoscopic stenting in CD-related strictures is a safe technique that can be performed with technical ease, albeit with a limited clinical success. Postprocedure abdominal pain and proximal stent migration are some of the common adverse events reported.

Capsule endoscopy - a non-invasive modality to investigate the GI tract: out with the old and in with the new?

INTRODUCTION

Capsule endoscopy has had significant development since it was introduced into the field of medicine in 2000. It is non-invasive, well tolerated, does not require sedation and is a first-line small bowel investigative modality. As it transits through the entire gastrointestinal (GI) tract, it has the potential to provide a pan-enteric examination.

AREAS COVERED

In this review we will discuss the new diagnostic modalities along with traditional methods which have been used for examination of the gastro intestinal (GI) tract. The main focus of this review will be on the use of capsule endoscopy for pan-enteric examination.

EXPERT OPINION

Capsule endoscopy is an accepted first-line investigation for the small bowel. Diagnostic sensitivity of the colon capsule is comparable to colonoscopy in controlled trials and is being evaluated in high-risk patients in routine clinical practice in national programs. Preliminary data suggest that a magnetic-controlled examination of the upper GI tract could be developed to enable a complete upper GI examination.

Can visceral adipose tissue and skeletal muscle predict recurrence of newly diagnosed Crohn's disease in different treatments

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

It is crucial to manage the recurrence of Crohn's disease (CD). This study is aimed to explore whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and skeletal muscle (SM) are associated with the recurrence of CD upon different treatments.

METHODS

All patients with a definite diagnosis of CD were retrospectively divided into three groups according to distinct treatment regimens: 5-amino salicylic acid group (Group A), steroids + azathioprine (Group B) and biologics (Group C). The pretreatment computerized tomography (CT) images and clinical data were collected. The VAT area, mesenteric fat index (MFI), the ratio of VAT area to fat mass (VAT area/FM) were assessed. The primary end point was the recurrence of CD within 1 year of follow-up.

RESULTS

A total of 171 CD patients were enrolled, including 57 (33.33%) patients in Group A, 70 (40.94%) patients in Group B and 44 (25.73%) patients in Group C. Patients with 1-year recurrence had higher MFI (P = 0.011) and VAT area/FM (P = 0.000). ROC curve demonstrated that patients with the ratio of VAT area/FM and MFI higher than 0.578 and 1.394 tended to have recurrence with the AUC of 0.707 and 0.709. Similar results could be observed in Group A & B but not in Group C.

CONCLUSIONS

High VAT area/FM and MFI are related to recurrence within 1 year for newly diagnosed CD patients treated by 5-amino salicylic or azathioprine + steroids rather than biologics. We could not observe any radiological data associated with the recurrence of CD patients under biological treatment.

Preoperative Anti-TNF Therapy is Associated with a Shorter Length of Resected Bowel in Patients Undergoing Ileocolic Resection for Crohn's Disease

BACKGROUND

Massive or repeated intestinal resections for Crohn's disease (CD) could lead to disabling consequences. The present study aimed to assess the effect of preoperative anti-TNF therapy on the length of resected bowel and identify risk factors for postoperative morbidity following ileocolic resection for CD.

METHODS

Patients undergoing elective ileocolic resection for CD were included prospectively. Medical variables including demographics, Montréal classification, preoperative treatment, surgical details and 30-day postoperative morbidity were collected. Potential impact of preoperative anti-TNF treatment on length of ileocolic specimen and risk factors for postoperative morbidity were investigated.

RESULTS

One hundred and eight-four patients were included in this study, and 66 (35.9%) of them received anti-TNF agents within 8 weeks prior to surgery. Primary anastomosis was performed in 145 patients (78.8%). The mean length of resected intestine was 10 cm shorter in subjects receiving preoperative anti-TNF treatment than those without preoperative anti-TNF therapy (P < 0.001). The rates of postoperative overall, infectious and intra-abdominal septic morbidity were 29.9%, 19.0% and 7.6%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, anti-TNF therapy < 8 weeks before surgery was independently associated with a shorter length of resected bowel but didn't increase overall and septic complications, while systemic steroids use within 8 weeks prior to surgery independently increased overall complications and intra-abdominal sepsis.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative anti-TNF therapy was associated with a shorter length of resected bowel but not the overall and septic postoperative complications in ileocolic resection for CD. Weaning off systemic steroids before surgery may improve postoperative outcomes in patients with CD.

Resection rate curves by location along the small intestine provide perspectives on characteristics of Crohn's disease

AIM

Crohn's disease (CD) can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract; however, the frequency of CD lesions differs by location. This work aimed to examine resection rates by location to clarify locational characteristics of the small intestine in surgical CD cases.

METHOD

This was a single-centre retrospective case note review of patients who had undergone resection for CD affecting the small intestine between January 2014 and February 2020. Operative details, including length of the small intestine, location and extent of the resection, identified the pattern of disease. By normalizing these data the resection rate along the length of the intestine was calculated to create resection rate curves.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty six surgical cases were identified. The resection rate curves could be divided into two types: exponential and bimodal. For primary surgery, this depended on whether or not surgery was limited to an ileocolic resection. At subsequent surgery, a previous ileocaecal resection influenced the pattern of disease. The peaks of the bimodal curve were located at the proximal and distal ileum.

CONCLUSION

CD patients requiring resection of the small intestine can be divided into terminal ileum type (exponential type) and proximal ileum type (bimodal type). In the future this analytical method may help predict the site of any recurrent disease but also provides a new perspective on the disease.

Clinicopathologic Features and Diagnostic Implications of Pyloric Gland Metaplasia in Intestinal Specimens

Pyloric gland metaplasia (PGM) is a histopathologic change usually seen after inflammatory injury and, although described in association with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and particularly Crohn disease (CD), its significance is still debated. We evaluated long-term correlates of PGM in a large cohort of 601 intestinal specimens, 227 (37.8%) biopsies, and 374 (62.2%) resections, from 567 different patients, 328 (57.8%) male and 239 (42.2%) female, with a mean age of 43.4±15.8 years. During mean clinical follow-up of 83.5±48.1 months, 511 (90.1%) patients were diagnosed with IBD, 457 (89.4%) with CD, and 53 (10.4%) with ulcerative colitis. In multivariate analysis, IBD patients with PGM were younger (P<0.001) and more often had severely active inflammation (P=0.002) compared with non-IBD patients, whereas, among IBD patients, those with ulcerative colitis were more likely to have PGM in a biopsy (P<0.001) or in the colorectum (P=0.009), compared with CD patients. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that incidental PGM in a biopsy was more likely to predict IBD in patients younger than 50 years (P<0.001) and those without a history of bowel surgery (P<0.001) and also more likely to signify CD in patients younger than 50 years (P=0.004), those without a history of bowel surgery (P=0.020), and when identified in the small intestine (P=0.032). In conclusion, intestinal PGM warrants a high suspicion for IBD and specifically CD, however, it should be interpreted with caution, especially in older patients or those with a history of prior intestinal surgery and in colorectal biopsies or specimens lacking severely active inflammation.

Elective surgery outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease: interpretation at magnetic resonance enterography

Inflammatory bowel diseases include pathologic intestinal conditions of unknown etiology, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn's disease consists in a chronic transmural inflammation that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract and whose clinical course is characterized by a fluctuation of remission and recurrences, while inflammation in ulcerative colitis involves the solely layer of colonic mucosa. Cross-sectional imaging, and especially magnetic resonance enterography, is able to provide useful information about small bowel lesions as well as intestinal and extra-intestinal complications.However, morphological changes due to surgery can significantly impair the evaluation of small and large bowel, especially considering that the majority of CD patients undergo one or more surgical operations during their lifetime. Therefore, the aim of this work is to summarize the main surgical approaches in inflammatory bowel disease patients and the consequent findings on magnetic resonance enterography.

Surgical Treatment for Crohn's Disease: A Role of Kono-S Anastomosis in the West

More than 80% of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) will require surgical intervention during their lifetime, with high rates of anastomotic recurrence and stenosis necessitating repeat surgery. Current data show that pharmacotherapy has not significantly improved the natural history of postoperative clinical and surgical recurrence of CD. In 2003, antimesenteric hand-sewn functional end-to-end (Kono-S) anastomosis was first performed in Japan. This technique has yielded very desirable outcomes in terms of reducing the incidence of anastomotic surgical recurrence. The most recent follow-up of these patients showed that very few had developed surgical recurrence. This new approach is superior to stapled functional end-to-end anastomosis because the stumps are sutured together to create a stabilizing structure (a "supporting column"), serving as a supportive backbone of the anastomosis to help prevent distortion of the anastomotic lumen due to disease recurrence and subsequent clinical symptoms. This technique requires careful mesenteric excision for optimal preservation of the blood supply and innervation. It also results in a very wide anastomotic lumen on the antimesenteric side. The Kono-S technique has shown efficacy in preventing surgical recurrence and the potential to become the new standard of care for intestinal CD.

Robotic ileocolic resection with intracorporeal anastomosis for Crohn's disease

The robotic platform can overcome limitations of the laparoscopic approach, particularly in the facilitation of intracorporeal anastomosis creation. We aim to share our institutional experience with robotic ileocolic resection for Crohn's disease (CD) and compare it to a laparoscopic cohort. We identified patients who underwent ileocolic resection for CD with a purely robotic (R) or laparoscopic (L) approach between February 2015 and 2018. Chart review was performed and preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data was collected. A total of 47 patients with a mean age of 35.2 years old were identified and 61% were female. Seventy percent [n = 33, (23 females, 69.6%)] of the cases were performed robotically and 30% of the cases [n = 14, (6 females, 42.8%)] were performed laparoscopically. The groups were well matched for age, gender, BMI as well as disease related factors (CD duration; clinical classification and location), perioperative immunosuppression, and surgical history. Time to bowel function was shorter by about 1 day in the robotic group (R: 1.9 ± 0.88 days vs. L: 2.7 ± 0.8 days, p = 0.003). Mean operative time was longer in the robotic group by 51 min and this difference was significant (p = 0.03), however 30.3% of patients underwent ureteral stent placement, which can account for added time in robotic cases. There were less conversions in the robotic group [R: 1(4.3%) vs. L: 1(7%)], but this was not significant. There were no intraoperative complications in either group. Complication (L: 21.4% vs. R: 15.1%, p = 0.605) and reoperation rates (L: 0% vs. R: 3.03%, p = 0.429) were similar. Robotic ileocolic resection for Crohn's disease is as safe and feasible as the laparoscopic approach. This was accomplished with no leaks, major morbidity or mortality and comparable length of stay, with 1 day shorter return of bowel function, and with a lower overall complication rate. The robotic approach offers advantages in Crohn's disease which should be studied further in prospective studies.

Preoperative hypoalbuminemia is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications in Crohn's disease patients with normal BMI: A cohort study

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is universal in Crohn's disease (CD). The body mass index (BMI) is used to assess nutritional status to predict postoperative complications in CD patients. However, some CD patients have a normal BMI. The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors for postoperative complications in CD patients with normal preoperative BMI values.

METHODS

This retrospective observational study included 315 CD patients who underwent surgical treatment between December 2012 and January 2020. Patient data were collected from a prospectively maintained database. The risk factors for postoperative complications in CD patients with normal BMI values were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

In total, 315 eligible patients were included. The incidence of postoperative complications was 30.8%, consisting of 22.5% mild complications and 18.4% major complications. The albumin level, the C-reactive protein level, laparoscopic surgery, and operative time were significantly associated with postoperative outcomes. Multivariate analysis showed that a low preoperative albumin level (P = 0.013, OR = 2.991, 95% CI: 1.255-7.131) was an independent risk factor for postoperative complications in CD patients with normal BMI values.

CONCLUSIONS

A low preoperative albumin level was a risk factor for postoperative complications in CD patients with normal BMI values. Although some patients have a normal BMI, clinicians should still consider the preoperative albumin level in CD patients to evaluate their nutritional status and provide timely intervention to reduce the risk of postoperative complications.

Anti-TNF and Postoperative Complications in Abdominal Crohn's Disease Surgery

Background: :

Biological therapy with anti-Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α agents revolutionised the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease over the last decades. However, there may be an increased risk of postoperative complications in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients treated with anti-TNF-α agents prior to abdominal surgery.

Objective::

To evaluate the effects of preoperative anti-TNF-α therapy on the incidence of complications after surgery.

Methods: :

A critical assessment of the results of clinical trial outcomes and meta-analyses on the available data was conducted.

Results: :

Based on the outcomes of previous reports including meta-analyses, preoperative use of anti- TNF-α agents modestly increased the risk of overall complications and particularly infectious complications after abdominal surgery for CD. Nevertheless, previous studies have several limitations. The majority of them were retrospective research with heterogeneous outcome measures and single centre trials with relatively small sample size. In retrospective studies, the standard protocol for assessing various types of postoperative complications was not used. The most serious limitation of the previous studies was that multiple confounding factors such as malnutrition, use of corticosteroids, and preoperative sepsis were not taken into consideration.

Conclusion::

Among patients treated with preoperative anti-TNF-α therapy, the risk of overall complications and infectious complications may slightly increase after abdominal surgery for CD. Nevertheless, the previous reports reviewed in this study suffered from limitations. To rigorously evaluate the risk of anti-TNF-α therapy prior to surgery, large prospective studies with standardised criteria for assessing surgical complications and with proper adjustment for confounding variables are warranted.

Prospective evaluation of intestinal decompression in treatment of acute bowel obstruction from Crohn's disease

Background

Conservative therapy for Crohn’s disease (CD)-related acute bowel obstruction is essential to avoid emergent surgery. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of using a long intestinal decompression tube (LT) in treatment of CD with acute intestinal obstruction.

Methods

This is a prospective observational study. Comparative analysis was performed in CD patients treated with LT (the LT group) and nasogastric tube (the GT group). The primary outcome was the avoidance of emergent surgery. Additionally, predictive factors for failure of decompression and subsequent surgery were investigated.

Results

There were 27 and 42 CD patients treated with LT and GT, respectively, in emergent situations. Twelve (44.4%) patients using LT were managed conservatively without laparotomy, while only nine (21.4%) patients in the GT group were spared from emergent surgery (P < 0.05). Both in surgery-free and in surgery patients, the time to alleviation of symptoms was significantly shorter in the LT groups than in the GT groups (both P < 0.01). C-reactive protein decrease after intubation and 48-hour drainage volume >500 mL were predictors of unavoidable surgery (both P < 0.05). The rate of temporary stoma and incidence of incision infection in the LT surgery group were significantly lower than those in the GT group (both P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the frequency of medical and surgical recurrences between the LT and GT groups (all P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Endoscopic placement of LT could improve the emergent status in CD patients with acute bowel obstruction. The drainage output and changes in C-reactive protein after intubation could serve as practical predictive indices for subsequent surgery. Compared to traditional GT decompression, LT decompression was associated with fewer short-term complications and did not appear to affect long-term recurrence.

Assessment of Patients' Future Outlook after Bowel Resection in Crohn's Disease

Background

Many patients with Crohn's disease (CD) require surgery in their life. Their future outlook is crucial to psychological and mental health after surgery. This study is aimed at assessing CD patient's outlook after experiencing bowel resection and determining factors associated with patient's outlook.

Methods

We used an ad hoc questionnaire (modified WHOQOL-BREF) to assess patients' outlook for the future after bowel resection in CD. All patients who experienced bowel resection for CD from 2015 to 2017 were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups according to the questionnaire. Patients who had a positive outlook were compared with those who had a negative outlook. The patients' view on timing of surgery was also recorded.

Results

Of 114 eligible patients surveyed, 103 (90.4%) responded. 65 (63.1%) reported that the timing of surgery was appropriate, and 26 patients felt it should have been performed earlier, while remaining 12 preferred a later surgery. 61 (59.2%) patients had a positive outlook of their future lives, while 42 patients had a negative outlook. Factors as the financial burden, employment status, patients' view on timing of surgery, and clinical recurrence were associated with patients' outlook. In the multivariate analysis, only clinical recurrence was an independent risk factor for patient's future outlook.

Conclusion

From this survey, it is clear that most patients who underwent an elective bowel resection for CD are satisfied with their timing of surgery. Patients who have clinical recurrence carry a significant negative outlook for their future life. Postoperative management which focuses on preventing clinical recurrence may enhance patients' outlook for the future.

The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland consensus guidelines in surgery for inflammatory bowel disease

AIM

There is a requirement of an expansive and up to date review of surgical management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can dovetail with the medical guidelines produced by the British Society of Gastroenterology.

METHODS

Surgeons who are members of the ACPGBI with a recognised interest in IBD were invited to contribute various sections of the guidelines. They were directed to produce a procedure based document using literature searches that were systematic, comprehensible, transparent and reproducible. Levels of evidence were graded. An editorial board was convened to ensure consistency of style, presentation and quality. Each author was asked to provide a set of recommendations which were evidence based and unambiguous. These recommendations were submitted to the whole guideline group and scored. They were then refined and submitted to a second vote. Only those that achieved >80% consensus at level 5 (strongly agree) or level 4 (agree) after 2 votes were included in the guidelines.

RESULTS

All aspects of surgical care for IBD have been included along with 157 recommendations for management.

CONCLUSION

These guidelines provide an up to date and evidence based summary of the current surgical knowledge in the management of IBD and will serve as a useful practical text for clinicians performing this type of surgery.

Endoscopy in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Position Paper on Behalf of the Porto IBD Group of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Endoscopy is a central tool for the evaluation and management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In the last few decades, gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy has undergone significant technological developments including availability of pediatric-size equipment, enabling comprehensive investigation of the GI tract in children. Simultaneously, professional organization of GI experts have developed guidelines and training programs in pediatric GI endoscopy. This prompted the Porto Group on Pediatric IBD of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition to develop updated guidelines on the role of GI endoscopy in pediatric IBD, specifically taking into considerations of recent advances in the diagnosis, disease stratification, and novel therapeutic targets in these patients.

Factors Associated with Short-Term Morbidity in Patients Undergoing Colon Resection for Crohn's Disease

BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing colon resection for Crohn's disease are at risk of developing postoperative complications. The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with short-term (30-day) morbidity in patients undergoing colon resection for Crohn's disease from a national database.

METHODS

Patients who underwent colon resection for Crohn's disease in 2015 were identified from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. The groups were classified based on presence of postoperative 30-day complications. The overall morbidity was calculated by including patients who had at least one postoperative complication. Demographics, preoperative, and operative factors were assessed and compared between the two groups. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 1643 patients met the inclusion criteria [mean age of 41.2 (± 15.5) years, 871 (53%) female]. Sixty percent (n = 993) of the procedures were performed laparoscopically and 128 (12.8%) cases were converted to open. Ninety-five patients (5%) underwent emergent resections. Thirty percent (n = 507) of patients had at least one postoperative complication within 30 days of surgery. Ileus (16%), transfusion (7%), and organ-space surgical site infection (6%) were the most common morbidities. Independent risk factors for postoperative morbidity were male gender (p = 0.01), open surgery (p = 0.002), preoperative severe anemia (p = 0.001), and preoperative weight loss (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Approximately one third of the patients who undergo colon resection for Crohn's disease experience postoperative complications. Preoperative optimization of nutrition and anemia may improve outcomes. Laparoscopic technique appears to be the preferred surgical treatment option for resection when feasible.

Identification of Endpoints for Development of Antifibrosis Drugs for Treatment of Crohn's Disease

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Intestinal fibrosis is a challenge to management of patients with Crohn's disease (CD); there is an urgent need to expedite development of antifibrosis drugs for this disease. The International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD) aimed to identify a set of endpoints that can be used to determine efficacy of antifibrosis agents tested in clinical trials of patients with CD.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review to identify clinical, radiologic, biochemical, endoscopic, and composite endpoints used in assessing activity of fibrostenosing CD and response to treatment, and determined their operational properties. A panel of IOIBD experts performed a consensus process to identify the best endpoints for inclusion in clinical trials, through a 2-round, Delphi-style online survey.

RESULTS

A total of 36 potentially relevant endpoints for intestinal fibrosis were selected and assessed. Forty-eight physicians with expertise in inflammatory bowel disease, from 5 regions (North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia/Pacific, and Latin America), participated in the Delphi consensus process. A core set of 13 endpoints (complete clinical response, long-term efficacy, sustained clinical benefit, treatment failure, radiological remission, normal quality of life, clinical remission without steroids, therapeutic failure, deep remission, complete absence of occlusive symptoms, symptom-free survival, bowel damage progression, and no disability) were rated as critical. Agreement was high among the experts.

CONCLUSIONS

Members of the IOIBD reached expert consensus on a set of endpoints that can be used to assess antifibrosis agents in trials of patients with CD. Studies are needed to clarify methods for measuring these outcomes and validate measurement instruments.

The assessment of online health videos for surgery in Crohn's disease

AIM

YouTube™ is an open-access, nonpeer-reviewed video-hosting site and is used as a source of publicly available healthcare information. This study aimed to assess the thematic content of the most viewed videos relating to surgery and Crohn's disease and to explore the viewer interactions with these videos.

METHOD

A search of YouTube™ was carried out using one search string. The 50 most viewed videos were identified and categorized by source and content themes and assessed for viewer interactions. Video comments were used to describe the usefulness of the video content to viewers.

RESULTS

The majority of videos were uploaded by patients (n = 21).The remainder were uploaded by individual healthcare professionals (n = 9), hospital/speciality associations (n = 18) and industry (n = 2). The median number of likes for patient videos was significantly higher than for hospital/speciality association videos (P < 0.001). Patient videos received more comments praising the video content (n = 27) and more comments asking for further information (n = 14). The median number of likes for 'experience of surgery' (P < 0.001) and 'experience of disease' (P = 0.0015) themed videos were significantly higher than for 'disease management' themed videos.

CONCLUSION

Crohn's disease patients use YouTube™ as a surgical information source. The content of patient-sourced videos focused on surgical and disease experience, suggesting that these themes are important to patients. Current patient developed videos provide limited information, as reflected by viewers requesting further information. Storytelling patient-centred videos combined with clinical evidence may be a good model for future videos.

Strategies for remission induction of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is an abnormal immune-mediated, chronic, recurrent gastrointestinal inflammatory disorder, which is caused by a variety of factors, including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). IBD is characterized by alternating periods of relapse and remission. During the active period of IBD, clinicians usually formulate an appropriate medical management plan based on the disease activity, location, extent, and the medication history. In this way, remission can be induced as soon as possible. This paper summarizes the strategies for remission induction of IBD.

Monitoring and detection of disease recurrence after resection for Crohn's disease: the role of non-invasive fecal biomarkers

Ileocolonoscopy is the gold standard for the diagnosis and assessment of postoperative recurrence in Crohn's disease (CD). Nevertheless, endoscopy is time-consuming and invasive. A minimally invasive and simple screening test would improve patient adherence to examination and provide greater clinical benefit. A number of fecal biomarkers have been evaluated for their utility for the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory bowel disease as alternative tests to endoscopy. Area covered: In this review, we focused on the utility of fecal biomarkers in the management of postoperative CD. Our major endeavor was to present an evidence-based assessment of the results of clinical trials on the available data. A literature search was conducted using the Medline. Expert commentary: Calprotectin and lactoferrin, both neutrophil-derived proteins, are the two most frequently used fecal biomarkers in clinical trials and practice. Several studies evaluated the role of these fecal biomarkers in patients with postoperative CD. These studies suggest that fecal calprotectin, and to a lesser degree lactoferrin, are useful in assessing endoscopic severity and in predicting future clinical recurrence after resection for CD. However, large scale, well-designed studies are necessary to rigorously evaluate the role of fecal biomarkers in postoperative CD.

Value of cross-sectional imaging in assessing active Crohn's disease before stoma reversal

BACKGROUND

There are currently no guidelines on the need to assess disease activity before stoma reversal in Crohn's disease (CD). We sought to determine the value of cross-sectional imaging for detecting active CD before stoma reversal.

METHODS

38 CD patients underwent cross-sectional imaging before stoma reversal. CD activity was blindly evaluated by an independent radiologist. Postoperative outcomes were recorded.

RESULTS

Before stoma reversal, cross-sectional imaging identified active CD in 20 of the 38 study participants (52.6%). In 9 out of 10 tested patients, radiologic and endoscopic assessments gave concordant findings with regard to CD recurrence before stoma reversal. Stoma reversal was delayed in half of the patients with active CD and in none of the patients without active CD. Before stoma reversal, tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonists or immunosuppressants were initiated in 45% of the patients with active CD and 5.6% of the patients without active CD. In the year following stoma reversal, the recurrence rate (in a radiologic assessment) was higher in patients with active CD than in patients without active CD (75.0% vs. 30.8%, respectively; p=0.04).

CONCLUSION

Cross-sectional imaging revealed postoperative recurrence in about a quarter of patients before stoma reversal; this finding may influence the postoperative treatment strategy and outcomes.

Crohn Disease: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management

Crohn disease is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease condition characterized by skip lesions and transmural inflammation that can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. For this review article, we performed a review of articles in PubMed through February 1, 2017, by using the following Medical Subject Heading terms: crohns disease, crohn's disease, crohn disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Presenting symptoms are often variable and may include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and in certain cases fevers or chills. There are 3 main disease phenotypes: inflammatory, structuring, and penetrating. In addition to the underlying disease phenotype, up to a third of patients will develop perianal involvement of their disease. In addition, in some cases, extraintestinal manifestations may develop. The diagnosis is typically made with endoscopic and/or radiologic findings. Disease management is usually with pharmacologic therapy, which is determined on the basis of disease severity and underlying disease phenotype. Although the goal of management is to control the inflammation and induce a clinical remission with pharmacologic therapy, most patients will eventually require surgery for their disease. Unfortunately, surgery is not curative and patients still require ongoing therapy even after surgery for disease recurrence. Importantly, given the risks of complications from both Crohn disease and the medications used to treat the disease process, primary care physicians play an important role in optimizing the preventative care management to reduce the risk of complications.

Surgical Management of Crohn Disease in Children: Guidelines From the Paediatric IBD Porto Group of ESPGHAN

The incidence of Crohn disease (CD) has been increasing and surgery needs to be contemplated in a substantial number of cases. The relevant advent of biological treatment has changed but not eliminated the need for surgery in many patients. Despite previous publications on the indications for surgery in CD, there was a need for a comprehensive review of existing evidence on the role of elective surgery and options in pediatric patients affected with CD. We present an expert opinion and critical review of the literature to provide evidence-based guidance to manage these patients. Indications, surgical options, risk factors, and medications in pre- and perioperative period are reviewed in the light of available evidence. Risks and benefits of surgical options are addressed. An algorithm is proposed for the management of postsurgery monitoring, timing for follow-up endoscopy, and treatment options.

Incidental adenocarcinoma in patients undergoing surgery for stricturing Crohn's disease

AIM

To evaluate frequency and clinical course of incidental adenocarcinoma in patients with stricturing Crohn's disease (CD).

METHODS

In this study, consecutive patients, who were operated on for stricturing CD between 1997-2012, were included at an academic tertiary referral center. Demographic data and clinical course were obtained by an institutional database and individual chart review. Besides baseline characteristics, intraoperative findings and CD related history were also recorded. Colorectal cancer was classified and staged according to the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).

RESULTS

During the study period 484 patients underwent resections due to stricturing CD. Incidental adenocarcinoma was histologically confirmed in 6 (1.2%) patients (4 males, 2 females). Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer had a median age of 43 (27-66) years and a median history of CD of 16 (7-36) years. Malignant lesions were found in the rectum (n = 4, 66.7%), descending colon (n = 1, 16.7%) and ileocolon (n = 1, 16.7%). According to the UICC classification two patients were stages as I (33.3%), whereas the other patients were classified as stage IIA (16.7%), stage IIIB (16.7%), stage IIIC (16.7%) and stage IV (16.7%), respectively. After a median follow-up of 2 (0.03-8) years only 1 patient is still alive.

CONCLUSION

The frequency of incidental colorectal cancer in patients, who undergo surgery for stenotic CD, is low but associated with poor prognosis. However, surgeons need to be aware about the possibility of malignancy in stricturing CD, especially if localized in the rectum.

Factors affecting the incidence of early endoscopic recurrence after ileocolonic resection for Crohn's disease: a multicentre observational study

AIM

Early endoscopic recurrence is frequently observed in patients following resection for Crohn's disease (CD). However, factors affecting the incidence of an early postoperative endoscopic recurrence (EPER) have not been fully determined. The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors for EPER after ileocolonic resection for CD.

METHOD

This was a retrospective, international multicentre study, in which 127 patients with a first ileocolonoscopy conducted between 6 and 12 months after ileocolonic resection for CD were included. Endoscopic recurrence was defined as a Rutgeerts score of ≥ i2. The following variables were investigated as potential risk factors for EPER: gender, age at surgery, location and behaviour of CD, smoking, concomitant perianal lesions, preoperative use of steroids, immunomodulators and biologics, previous resection, blood transfusion, surgical procedure (open vs laparoscopic approach), length of resected bowel, type of anastomosis (side-to-side vs end-to-end), postoperative complications, granuloma and postoperative biological therapy. Variables related to the patient, disease and surgical procedure were investigated as potential risk factors for EPER, with univariate and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses.

RESULTS

43/127 (34%) patients had EPER at the time of the first postoperative ileocolonoscopy. In univariate analysis, only preoperative steroid use was significantly associated with a higher rate of EPER [21/45 patients (47%) on steroids and 22/82 patients (27%) without steroids (P = 0.04)]. In multivariate analysis, only preoperative steroid use was a significant independent risk factor for EPER (odds ratio 3.28, 95% confidence interval: 1.30-8.28; P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that only preoperative steroid use was a significant risk factor for EPER after ileocolonic resection for CD. Prospective studies are necessary to evaluate precisely the impact of perioperative medications on EPER rates.

Indications and surgical options for small bowel, large bowel and perianal Crohn's disease

Despite advancements in medical therapy of Crohn's disease (CD), majority of patients with CD will eventually require surgical intervention, with at least a third of patients requiring multiple surgeries. It is important to understand the role and timing of surgery, with the goals of therapy to reduce the need for surgery without increasing the odds of emergency surgery and its associated morbidity, as well as to limit surgical recurrence and avoid intestinal failure. The profile of CD patients requiring surgical intervention has changed over the decades with improvements in medical therapy with immunomodulators and biological agents. The most common indication for surgery is obstruction from stricturing disease, followed by abscesses and fistulae. The risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in CD is high but the likelihood of needing surgery for bleeding is low. Most major gastrointestinal bleeding episodes resolve spontaneously, albeit the risk of re-bleeding is high. The risk of colorectal cancer associated with CD is low. While current surgical guidelines recommend a total proctocolectomy for colorectal cancer associated with CD, subtotal colectomy or segmental colectomy with endoscopic surveillance may be a reasonable option. Approximately 20%-40% of CD patients will need perianal surgery during their lifetime. This review assesses the practice parameters and guidelines in the surgical management of CD, with a focus on the indications for surgery in CD (and when not to operate), and a critical evaluation of the timing and surgical options available to improve outcomes and reduce recurrence rates.

Management of Crohn's Disease in the New Era of Gut Rehabilitation and Intestinal Transplantation

Despite recent therapeutic advances, patients with Crohn's disease (CD) continue to experience high recurrence with cumulative structural damage and ultimate loss of nutritional autonomy. With short bowel syndrome, strictures, and enteric fistulae being the underlying pathology, CD is the second common indication for home parenteral nutrition (HPN). With development of intestinal failure, nutritional management including HPN is required as a rescue therapy. Unfortunately, some patients do not escape the HPN-associated complications. Therefore, the concept of gut rehabilitation has evolved as part of the algorithmic management of these patients, with transplantation being the ultimate life-saving therapy. With type 2 intestinal failure, comprehensive rehabilitative measures including nutritional care, pharmacologic manipulation, autologous reconstruction, and bowel lengthening is often successful, particularly in patients with quiescent disease. With type 3 intestinal failure, transplantation is the only life-saving treatment for patients with HPN failure and intractable disease. With CD being the second common indication for transplantation in adults, survival outcome continues to improve because of surgical innovation, novel immunosuppression, and better postoperative care. Despite being a rescue therapy, the procedure has achieved survival rates similar to other solid organs, and comparable to those who continue to receive HPN therapy. With similar technical, immunologic, and infectious complications, survival is similar in the CD and non-CD recipients. Full nutritional autonomy is achievable in most survivors with better quality of life and long-term cost-effectiveness. CD recurrence is rare with no impact on graft function. Further progress is anticipated with new insights into the pathogenesis of CD and mechanisms of transplant tolerance.

Minimally invasive surgery for inflammatory bowel disease: Review of current developments and future perspectives

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprise a population of patients that have a high likelihood of both surgical treatment at a young age and repetitive operative interventions. Therefore surgical procedures need to aim at minimizing operative trauma with best postoperative recovery. Minimally invasive techniques have been one of the major advancements in surgery in the last decades and are nowadays almost routinely performed in colorectal resections irrespective of underlying disease. However due to special disease related characteristics such as bowel stenosis, interenteric fistula, abscesses, malnutrition, repetitive surgeries, or immunosuppressive medications, patients with IBD represent a special cohort with specific needs for surgery. This review summarizes current evidence of minimally invasive surgery for patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis and gives an outlook on the future perspective of technical advances in this highly moving field with its latest developments in single port surgery, robotics and trans-anal techniques.

Kono-S Anastomosis for Surgical Prophylaxis of Anastomotic Recurrence in Crohn's Disease: an International Multicenter Study

INTRODUCTION

The Kono-S (antimesenteric functional end-to-end handsewn) anastomosis has been used for Crohn's disease in Japan and the USA since 2003 and 2010, respectively. This technique was designed to reduce the risk of anastomotic surgical recurrence. This study reviews the outcomes a decade after the introduction of the Kono-S anastomosis to clinical practice.

METHODS

This study was conducted at five hospitals (four in Japan and one in the USA). A total of 187 patients in Japan (144 patients, group J) and the USA (43 patients, group US) who underwent Kono-S anastomosis for Crohn's disease between September 2003 and September 2011 were included.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 65 months, two surgical anastomotic recurrences have occurred in group J. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that 5 and 10 years surgical recurrence-free survival rate was 98.6% in group J. No surgical anastomotic recurrences have been detected in group US with a median follow-up of 32 months. The Kono-S anastomosis was technically feasible and performed in all patients.

CONCLUSION

The Kono-S anastomosis appears to be safe and effective in reducing the risk of surgical recurrence in Crohn's disease.

Colectomy with Permanent End Ileostomy Is More Cost-Effective than Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis for Crohn's Colitis

BACKGROUND

Much of the economic burden of Crohn's disease (CD) is related to surgery. Twenty percent of patients with CD have isolated colonic disease. While permanent end ileostomy (EI) is generally the procedure of choice for patients with refractory CD colitis, single-center experiences suggest that restorative proctocolectomy (IPAA) is durable in select patients.

AIMS

We assessed the cost-effectiveness of total colectomy with permanent EI versus IPAA in medically refractory colonic CD.

METHODS

We used a lifetime Markov model with 6-month cycles to simulate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost. In each of the EI and IPAA strategies, patients could transition between multiple health states. One-way and multivariable sensitivity analysis and tornado analysis were performed to identify thresholds for factors influencing cost-effectiveness.

RESULTS

IPAA was more effective than EI surgery with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $70,715 per QALY gained. We identified the following variables of importance in our model: (1) the cost of the EI surgery, (2) the cost of infliximab, and (3) the cost of gastroenterology ambulatory visit and labs. Threshold analysis revealed that if the costs associated with EI surgery exceeded $20,167 or if the utility of IPAA with CD remission without medical therapy exceeded 0.37, IPAA became the more cost-effective strategy.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with medically refractory CD isolated to the colon, colectomy with permanent EI is more cost-effective than IPAA unless the costs associated with the EI surgery exceed $20,167 or if the utility associated with IPAA and CD remission exceeds 0.37.

Assessment of stricturing Crohn's disease: Current clinical practice and future avenues

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic remittent idiopathic disease. Although the early phase of the disease is commonly characterized by inflammation-driven symptoms, such as diarrhea, the frequency of fibrostenotic complications in patients with CD increases over the long-term course of the disease. This review presents the current diagnostic options for assessing CD-associated strictures. In addition to the endoscopic evaluation of CD strictures, this review summarizes the currently available imaging modalities, including ultrasound and cross-sectional imaging techniques. In addition to stricture detection, differentiating between the primarily inflammatory strictures and the predominantly fibrotic ones is essential for selecting the appropriate treatment strategy (anti-inflammatory medical treatment vs endoscopical or surgical approaches). Therefore, recent imaging advances, such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound and ultrasound elastography, contribute to the development of non-invasive non-radiating imaging of CD-associated strictures. Finally, novel magnetic resonance imaging techniques, such as diffusion-weighted, motility and magnetization transfer imaging, as well as ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, molecular imaging approaches and biomarkers, are critically reviewed with regard to their potential role in assessing stricturing CD.

Risk factors for complications after ileocolonic resection for Crohn's disease with a major focus on the impact of preoperative immunosuppressive and biologic therapy: A retrospective international multicentre study

BACKGROUND

Author note: TY, AS, YS, FVT and PGK designed the study. All authors did data collection and gave scientific contribution to the study design and discussion. TY, AS and PGK drafted the article. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.In the era of biologic agents, risk factors for complications following resection for Crohn's disease have not been fully identified. In particular, the association of preoperative use of immunosuppressive and biologic agents with the incidence of complications after resection remains to be elucidated.

AIM

This retrospective multicentre study aimed to identify risk factors for complications after ileocolonic resection for Crohn's disease, with a major focus on the impact of preoperative immunosuppressive and biologic therapy.

METHODS

A total of 231 consecutive patients who underwent ileocolonic resections for active Crohn's disease in seven inflammatory bowel disease referral centres from three countries (Japan, Brazil and Italy) were included. The following variables were investigated as potential risk factors: age at surgery, gender, behaviour of Crohn's disease (perforating vs. non-perforating disease), smoking, preoperative use (within eight weeks before surgery) of steroids, immunosuppressants and biologic agents, previous resection, blood transfusion, surgical procedure (open vs. laparoscopic approach), and type of anastomosis (side-to-side vs. end-to-end). Postoperative complications occurring within 30 days after surgery were recorded.

RESULTS

The rates of overall complications, intra-abdominal sepsis, and anastomotic leak were 24%, 12% and 8%, respectively. Neither immunosuppressive nor biologic therapy prior to surgery was significantly associated with the incidence of overall complications, intra-abdominal sepsis or anastomotic leak. In multivariate analysis, blood transfusion, perforating disease and previous resection were significant risk factors for overall complications (odds ratio [OR] 3.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-7.52; P = 0.02), intra-abdominal sepsis (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.04-6.86; P = 0.04) and anastomotic leak (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.01-8.18; P = 0.048), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Blood transfusion, perforating disease and previous resection were significant risk factors for overall complications, intra-abdominal sepsis and anastomotic leak after ileocolonic resection for Crohn's disease, respectively. Preoperative immunosuppressive or biologic therapy did not increase the risk of postoperative complications.

Endoscopic evaluation of surgically altered bowel in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases often undergo surgical procedures for medically refractory disease or colitis associated dysplasia. Endoscopic evaluation of the surgically altered bowel is often needed to assess for disease recurrence, its severity, and for therapy. It is important to obtain and review the operative report and abdominal imaging before performing the endoscopy. Diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy can be safely performed in most patients with inflammatory bowel disease with altered bowel anatomy under conscious sedation without fluoroscopy. Carefully planned stricture therapy with balloon dilation or needle knife stricturotomy can be performed for simple, short, and fibrotic strictures. A multidisciplinary approach involving a team of endoscopist, endoscopy nurse, colorectal surgeon, gastrointestinal pathologist, and gastrointestinal radiologist is important for a safe and effective endoscopy. We attempt to review the aspects that need consideration before the endoscopy, the technique of endoscopy, and briefly the therapies that can be performed during endoscopy of the bowel through an ileostomy, a colostomy, in the diverted large bowel or ileal pouch, and small bowel after stricturoplasty and bowel bypass surgery in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Surgical recurrence in Crohn’s disease: Are we getting better?

Crohn’s disease (CD) still remains a challenging chronic inflammatory disorder, both for colorectal surgeons and gastroenterologists. The need for recurrent surgery following primary intestinal resection is still considerable, though recent evidence suggested a declining rate of recurrence. Several conflicting surgical parameters have been identified that might impact on the postoperative outcome positively, such as access to the abdomen, anastomotic configuration or type of disease. Additionally, promising results have been achieved with the increased use of immunosuppressive medications in CD. Consequently, the question arises if we are getting better as a result of novel medical and surgical strategies.

The analysis of clinico-pathologic characteristics in patients who underwent surgery due to stricturing and non-perineal fistulizing forms of Crohn's disease: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The diagnosis of Crohn's disease is based mainly on the patient's history and clinical examination and supported by serologic, radiologic, endoscopic, and histologic findings.

AIMS

The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate in a retrospective manner the clinico-pathological characteristics of patients who underwent surgery due to stricturing or non perineal fistulizing Crohn's disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between January 2007 and June 2012, 75 patients who were operated on for stricturing and non-perineal fistulizing forms of Crohn's disease were analyzed according to their clinico-pathological characteristics.

RESULTS

The L3 localization (Montreal Classification) was detected significantly more often in the non-perineal fistulizing group than in the stricturing group (P < 0.03). Wound infection (18 patient, 24%) was the most commonly observed postoperative complication, followed by postoperative ileus (5 patients, 6.7%) and intraabdominal abscess (4 patients, 5.2%). The distribution of postoperative complications according to the two groups was not significantly different (P = 0.772). Submucosal fibrosis, ulcers and transmural inflammation were the three most common histopathological signs in resected specimens from both groups. Pseudopolyps, microabscess, granuloma, mononuclear inflammation and deep fissures were significantly far more frequent in the non perineal fistulizing group when compared to the stricturing group (P < 0.05). On the other hand, superficial ulcers were significantly more frequent in the stricturing group (P = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

No specific clinical feature was found to differentiate patients with the stricturing form of Crohn's disease from the fistulizing form. However, histopathological analysis of the resected specimens revealed significant differences in some parameters between the two disease forms.

Intestinal stricture in Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease (CD) is a disease with chronic inflammation of unknown etiology involving any part of the gastrointestinal tract. The incidence and prevalence of CD are increasing recently in Asia. Half of the CD patients will have intestinal complications, such as strictures or fistulas, within 20 years after diagnosis. Twenty-five percentage of CD patients have had at least one small bowel stricture and 10% have had at least one colonic stricture and lead to significant complications. Most of these patients will require at least one surgery during their lifetime. Early diagnosis and evaluation with adequate managements for the patients can prevent disability and mortality of these patient. Here, we reviewed the current incidence of CD with stricture, the etiology of stricture, and how to diagnose and manage the stricture.