A33 ENDOSCOPIC ULTRASOUND-GUIDED GASTROJEJUNOSTOMY VERSUS SURGICAL GASTROJEJUNOSTOMY AND ENTERAL STENTING FOR THE TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT GASTRIC OUTLET OBSTRUCTION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Background

Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), often encountered in advanced malignancy, is associated with debilitating symptoms and decreased quality of life. Traditional management of this condition has been surgical gastrojejunostomy (SGJ) or enteral stenting (ES). While SGJ is highly effective, it is invasive and associated with high rates of morbidity. ES provides a less invasive approach with a lower risk of adverse events; however, it is associated with a significant risk of stent dysfunction with increased need for reintervention. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gastrojejunostomy (EUS-GJ) is a novel modality in the management of GOO that aims to endoscopically bypass the obstruction with a lumen-apposing metal stent, with early studies suggesting good effectiveness and safety outcomes; but the data are limited.

Aims

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the clinical outcomes of EUS-GJ to more traditional treatments of malignant GOO.

Methods

The study protocol was prospectively registered with the PROSPERO international database. The literature was systematically searched using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Knowledge databases from inception through May 2021. Studies comparing EUS-GJ to ES or SGJ in patients with malignant GOO were included. Meta-analysis was performed with results reported as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using random effects models. The two primary outcomes of interest were clinical success without GOO recurrence and adverse events. Secondary outcome was technical success.

Results

Ten studies with a total of 1016 patients were included. EUS-GJ was associated with higher clinical success without GOO recurrence compared to SGJ or ES [OR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.18–4.09, heterogeneity: P = 0.10; I² = 59%]. Subgroup analysis showed higher clinical success without GOO recurrence compared to ES [OR: 5.31, 95% CI: 3.07–9.17], but no significant difference compared to SGJ [OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 0.76–3.72]. EUS-GJ was associated with fewer adverse events compared to SGJ and ES [OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.14–0.55] and compared to SGJ alone [OR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.10–0.37], but no difference was noted when compared to ES alone [OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.15–1.87]. EUS-GJ was associated with decreased technical success compared to SGJ and ES [OR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.09 – 0.75] and SGJ alone [OR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.04–0.48]; however, there was no difference when compared to ES alone [OR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.05–3.44].

Conclusions

EUS-GJ provides a robust bypass with lower risk of recurrent obstruction compared to ES and fewer adverse events compared to SGJ. High quality prospective studies are needed to further characterize the role of EUS-GJ in the management of malignant GOO.

Funding Agencies

None

A157 REAL-WORLD TIGHT OBJECTIVE MONITORING WITH ADALIMUMAB LEADS TO EARLIER DOSE OPTIMIZATION AND HIGHER CLINICAL REMISSION RATES AT 12 MONTHS

Background

Data suggests that tight objective monitoring of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) may improve one-year clinical outcomes.

Aims

The goal of this study is to assess the adherence to serial tight objective monitoring, via clinical symptoms and biomarkers, and the effect of such tight monitoring on one year outcome in IBD patients at an academic and an university-affiliated center.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the chart of 428 consecutive IBD patients who started adalimumaby at the McGill University Health Center and Jewish General Hospital (Montreal, Canada) between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2019 [338 Crohn’s disease(CD), 90 ulcerative colitis(UC)]. Clinical symptoms (assessed by Harvey-Bradshaw-Index and partial Mayo), C-Reactive Protein(CRP), and fecal calprotectin(FCAL) were captured at treatment initiation and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Combined adherence was defined as the evaluation of ≥2 of 3 parameters(clinical, CRP, FCAL). Dose optimization and drug sustainability curves were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

Clinical symptoms were assessed in nearly all patients at 3 (CD-UC:95-94%), 6 (90-83%), 9 (86-85%) and 12 (96-89%) months. CRP was also available for most patients but the frequency of assessment decreased in CD patients over the study period. In comparison, compliance to serial FCAL testing was low throughout the follow-up period. Clinical remission at one-year was significantly higher in patients who were adherent to early assessment visit at 3 months (p=0.001 both for CD and UC). Adherence to early follow-up also resulted in earlier dose optimisation in both CD and UC patients(pLogrank=0.026 for UC and p=0.09 for CD). However, the overall drug sustainability did not differ.

Conclusions

Clinical assessment and CRP, but not FCAL, were frequently assessed in patients starting adalimumab. Adherence to early objective combined follow-up visits resulted in earlier dose optimization and improved one-year clinical outcomes but did not change drug sustainability rates.

Funding Agencies

None

Evidence for the validity and utility of the Stages of Exercise Behaviour Change scale in young adults

This study examined the validity and utility of the Stages of Exercise Behaviour Change (SEBC) scale in 244 young British adults. One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences (F > 7.34, P < 0.01) between the Exercise Behaviour Change Categories of Precontemplation/Contemplation (n = 49), Preparation (n = 87) and Action/Maintenance (n = 108) in self-report levels of exercise behaviour. Significant differences (F > 3.14, P < 0.05) were also revealed in exercise self-efficacy, physical self-perception sub-domains and global self-esteem scores. Subsequent step-wise discriminant analyses revealed that discrimination between the Categories of Exercise Behaviour Change was possible on the basis of selected behavioural and psychological parameters (Canonical r = 0.76-0.82, Wilks' lambda = 0.30-0.33, chi 2 = 60.3-94.6, d.f. = 14, P < 0.0001). In both males and females, the most dominant discriminatory variables in the first Function were revealed to be perceived physical conditioning and 'strenuous' exercise behaviour. For males, the second Function comprised exercise self-efficacy and perceived bodily attractiveness, whilst for females it comprised perceived bodily attractiveness, perceived sports competence and perceived physical strength. Subsequent cross-validation analysis, using a randomly selected 40% sub-sample, revealed that 67.8-70.7% of subjects were assigned to the correct Category. These results appear to confirm the concurrent validity of the SEBC scale in terms of self-report of exercise behaviour. Furthermore, the utility of the SEBC scale was demonstrated via the ability to predict membership of specific Categories of Exercise Behaviour Change using a selection of behavioural and psychological parameters.

Immunocytochemical analysis of glial cells in the hypomyelinated optic nerve of the BW mutant rat

The Browman-Wyse (BW) rat is a mutant with structural defects of the visual system, including a failure of the proximal (retinal) end of the optic nerve to myelinate. This latter abnormality is correlated with an absence of CAII+ oligodendrocytes, but we have previously shown that astrocytes are normally distributed, as judged by morphological characteristics of GFAP+ cells in vivo. We have further examined in vitro the immunohistochemical characteristics of macroglia isolated from the BW optic nerve, either as cell suspensions or after 4 days in culture. Cell cultures derived from the hypomyelinated proximal segment of BW optic nerves contained very few 0-2A progenitor cells (from which oligodendrocytes and cells with the GFAP+/A2B5+ phenotype develop), whereas over 90% of the glia were Schwann cells. A proportion of these few 0-2A progenitor cells differentiated normally after 4 days in vitro into both progeny phenotypes in appropriate media. Accordingly, we conclude that the myelination deficiency in the BW optic nerve could be explained as a failure of 0-2A progenitor cells to populate fully the proximal extremity of the nerve during development. Since most glia isolated from adult optic nerves did not adhere to the culture substrate, we analysed the phenotypes of freshly isolated cells in suspension. Comparing optic nerves of normal adult rats with those of BW mutants, a significantly higher fraction of the GFAP+ cells reacted with A2B5 in cell suspensions of the latter. The double-labelled cells which are present in abnormally high numbers may be the differentiated progeny of 0-2A progenitors in the hypomyelinated segment of nerve. One explanation for these findings is that Schwann cells within the BW nerve induce the differentiation of 0-2A progenitor cells to the GFAP+/A2B5+ phenotype. We investigated this possibility using conditioned medium from cultured Schwann cells which increased tenfold the frequency of GFAP+/A2B5+ cells in normal neonatal rat optic nerve cultures. Oligodendrocyte numbers showed a concomitant decline with increasing concentration of Schwann cell conditioned medium. Hypomyelination in the BW rat optic nerve may therefore arise because Schwann cells, present in the proximal segment of the nerve, not only impede the migration of 0-2A progenitor cells but also release a factor which induces those 0-2A progenitor cells which arrive in the proximal segment of the nerve to differentiate into GFAP+ cells at a critical stage in oligodendrocyte development.