Background Commensal bacteria play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and probiotics have been used as treatment options. We aimed to explore the current use of probiotics and factors associated with their prescription in patients with IBD.
Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on a single hospital-based cohort. Patients were eligible if they were ≥18 years old, visited the IBD clinic as an outpatient more than twice during the study period, and had a confirmed diagnosis of IBD. Patients were divided into two groups based on the prescription of probiotics. Clinical assessments were compared between the two groups.
Results In total, 217 patients were enrolled in this study. In patients with Crohn disease (CD), moderate or severe abdominal pain; prior use of methotrexate (MTX), iron, thiopurines, or biologics; history of IBD-related surgery; and stool frequency were independently associated with the prescription of probiotics. In patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), moderate or severe abdominal pain, hematochezia, stool frequency, and moderate or severe physician global assessment score were independently associated with the prescription of probiotics.
Conclusion Increased disease activity may be associated with fewer prescriptions of probiotics in patients with IBD. However, physicians prescribed probiotics to control symptoms, such as abdominal pain and increased stool frequency in patients with UC and CD, and hematochezia in patients with UC. Additionally, the use of MTX and iron, and a history of IBD-related surgeries were associated with more frequent probiotic prescriptions in patients with CD.
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The role of the fecal microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease Rami Khalaf, Martina Sciberras, Pierre Ellul European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.2024; 36(11): 1249. CrossRef
Probiotics for the treatment of ulcerative colitis: a review of experimental research from 2018 to 2022 Cuilan Huang, Wujuan Hao, Xuyang Wang, Renmin Zhou, Qiong Lin Frontiers in Microbiology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare, progressive immune-mediated systemic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, characterized by recurrent inflammation of cartilaginous structures. Approximately 30% of RP cases are associated with other autoimmune diseases. However, the co-occurrence of RP and Crohn disease (CD) has rarely been reported. Herein, we present a 35-year-old woman diagnosed with RP and CD, who was refractory to initial conventional medications, including azathioprine and glucocorticoid, but who subsequently responded to infliximab (IFX). For both diseases, remission was sustained with IFX. There has been no previous report regarding the successful treatment of co-existing RP and CD with IFX.
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Relapsing Polychondritis in a Patient With Auricular Chondritis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case Report With Literature Review David D Bickford, Thomas Ritter, Pinky Jha, Hari R Paudel Cureus.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Background Little is known about capsule endoscopy (CE) findings in patients with intestinal tuberculosis who exhibit small bowel lesions. The aim of the present study was to distinguish between Crohn’s disease (CD) and intestinal tuberculosis based on CE findings.
Methods Findings from 55 patients, who underwent CE using PillCam SB CE (Given Imaging, Yoqneam, Israel) between February 2003 and June 2015, were retrospectively analyzed.
Results CE revealed small bowel lesions in 35 of the 55 patients: 19 with CD and 16 with intestinal tuberculosis. The median age at diagnosis for patients with CD was 26 years and 36 years for those with intestinal tuberculosis. On CE, three parameters, ≥10 ulcers, >3 involved segments and aphthous ulcers, were more common in patients with CD than in those intestinal tuberculosis. Cobblestoning was observed in five patients with CD and in none with intestinal tuberculosis. The authors hypothesized that a diagnosis of small bowel CD could be made when the number of parameters in CD patients was higher than that for intestinal tuberculosis. The authors calculated that the diagnosis of either CD or intestinal tuberculosis would have been made in 34 of the 35 patients (97%).
Conclusion The number of ulcers and involved segments, and the presence of aphthous ulcers, were significantly higher and more common, respectively, in patients with CD than in those with intestinal tuberculosis. Cobblestoning in the small bowel may highly favor a diagnosis of CD on CE.
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Deep Learning Radiomics Analysis of CT Imaging for Differentiating Between Crohn’s Disease and Intestinal Tuberculosis Ming Cheng, Hanyue Zhang, Wenpeng Huang, Fei Li, Jianbo Gao Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine.2024; 37(4): 1516. CrossRef
Difficulties in the differential diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn‘s disease M. N. Reshetnikov, D. V. Plotkin, Yu. R. Zyuzya, A. A. Volkov, O. N. Zuban, E. M. Bogorodskaya Acta Biomedica Scientifica.2021; 6(5): 196. CrossRef
Differentiating intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn disease: Quo Vadis Vishal Sharma Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.2020; 14(8): 647. CrossRef
Secondary systemic (AA) amyloidosis is a severe complication of progressed Crohn disease (CD) characterized by the deposition of amyloid A in body organs and tissues. Various therapeutic approaches have been recommended, however there is still no effective treatment. Recently, several case reports have demonstrated the effects of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha therapy in patients with AA amyloidosis associated with CD. We report on a 35-year-old female patient with CD complicated by AA amyloidosis in the gastrointestinal tract and renal involvement, who was treated with infliximab. The infliximab therapy improved the gastrointestinal symptoms and decreased the serum creatinine.