Inflammatory bowel disease: recent developments.

Paediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a complex and heterogenous condition. Incidence of disease in those aged <18 years has doubled over the last 25 years, with concurrent increased prevalence and no decrease in disease severity. The tools available at diagnosis for investigation have developed over the last 10 years, including better utilisation of faecal calprotectin, improved small bowel imaging and video capsule endoscopy. Alongside this, management options have increased and include biological and small molecule therapies targeting alternative pathways (such as interleukin 12/23, integrins and Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription, JAK-STAT pathways) and better understanding of therapeutic drug monitoring for more established agents, such as infliximab. Dietary manipulation remains an interesting but contentious topic.This review summarises some of the recent developments in the diagnosis, investigation and management of IBD in children and young people. IBD is increasingly recognised as a continuum of disease, with a proportion of patients presenting with classical Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis phenotypes. Future implementation of personalisation and stratification strategies, including clinical and molecular biomarkers, implementation of predictors of response and outcome and use of additional therapies, will continue to require working within clinical networks and multiprofessional teams.

NIMBUS study protocol: a single-centre feasibility study of non-invasive monitoring with bowel ultrasound in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

INTRODUCTION: Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in childhood and treatment increasingly targets mucosal healing. Monitoring bowel inflammation requires endoscopy or MRI enterography which are invasive, expensive and have long waiting lists.We aim to examine the feasibility of a non-invasive monitoring tool-bowel ultrasound (BUS)-in children with IBD and explore correlations with inflammatory markers and disease activity measures. Some BUS criteria have been found to correlate with these markers; however, this has not been validated in children.We aim to examine the feasibility of BUS for monitoring inflammation in this population; highlighting useful parameters for this purpose. We aim to inform a larger scale randomised controlled trial using BUS. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This prospective observational feasibility study will be carried out over 24 months at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales, Cardiff; with the endpoint recruitment of 50 participants. Children aged 2-18 years with a modified Porto criteria diagnosis of IBD will be included.Patients without IBD or who have previously undergone IBD-related surgery will be excluded; as will families unable to give informed consent.Ultrasound scan images and reports will be collected, as well as laboratory results and clinical outcomes.The primary aim will assess the feasibility of targeted BUS for disease monitoring; including recruitment statistics. The secondary aims will involve data collection and correlation analysis for targeted ultrasound parameters, biomarkers, disease activity scores and prediction of changes in treatment. The statistical methods will include: feasibility metrics, descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and χ2 analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is granted by NHS Research Ethics Committee. The sponsor is Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. We will publish the results in a peer-reviewed medical journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05673278.

Variation in access and prescription of vedolizumab and ustekinumab in paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a UK-wide study.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic options for paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are limited, especially for younger children. Unlike in adults, vedolizumab and ustekinumab are not licensed for paediatric use in the UK. We aimed to understand the real-world access to, and use of, these therapies in the paediatric population. METHODS: We surveyed UK IBD centres to assess the incident use of vedolizumab and ustekinumab from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. We collected information on funding, dose escalations and therapeutic drug monitoring. RESULTS: 18 of 21 centres responded, covering an estimated 5260 patients. One hundred and thirteen were started on vedolizumab, prescription incidence 2.2%, median prescriptions per centre was 4 (range 1-20). Considering ustekinumab, 73 patients were commenced, prescription incidence 1.4%. Median prescription per centre was 3.5 (range 1-13). Prescription rates at each centre were not predicted by patient number cared for at that centre (p=0.2). Dose escalation was common in vedolizumab (66.7% centres) and ustekinumab (55.5%).Funding strategies varied substantially, and multiple funding sources were used; 12 of 18 centres (66.7%) reported funding through routine National Health Service (NHS) England/Scottish arrangements. There was local NHS trust funding in 8 of 18 centres (44.4%). Individual funding requests (IFRs) were used in 5 of 18 (27.8%), although IFRs are reserved for patients with unique additional characteristics. Four centres were unable to achieve funding in pre-pubescent children. CONCLUSIONS: There is widespread use of vedolizumab and ustekinumab across the UK, although practice is highly variable. Access to therapy appeared to differ substantially. There is a growing disparity between international guidelines and real-world practice. Establishing early and effective therapy in all patients remains a priority.

Time to normalisation of tissue transglutaminase in paediatric coeliac disease is dependent on initial titre and half of patients will normalise within 12 months.

BACKGROUND: Coeliac disease (CD) is common. Response to a gluten-free diet is assessed through serial measurement of tissue transglutaminase (TTG) antibody titre. However, the relationship of TTG titres to symptoms and the speed of normalisation is poorly understood. METHODS: Patients seen in 2020, and under follow-up in the Southampton CD clinic, had blood results, growth measures and symptom data collated. Time to normalisation, predictors of normalisation and relationship of TTG to growth/symptoms were assessed. RESULTS: 57 patients were included. All had TTG results from the time of diagnosis and follow-up. All families reported dietary compliance.Median TTG at diagnosis was 100 µ/L (range 0.3-4360), 94.7% of the patients had symptoms compatible with CD. At 6-12 months after diagnosis, the median TTG was 3.8 µ/mL (range 0.3-133). In terms of response, 29 of the 57 patients (50.9%) had a TTG below 4 µ/mL (upper normal limit). A further 25 patients (43.9%) had a TTG<10 times the upper limit of normal. Ten patients (17.5%) had a persistently high TTG (median=8.55 µ/mL, range 4.1-303) after >12 months.TTG at diagnosis was correlated with TTG at 6-12 months, ß=0.542, p=0.000016. Patients with TTG<10 times the upper limit of normal at diagnosis group were more likely to have normalised at 6-12 months compared with >10 times normal (85% vs 32.4%, p=0.0015). TTG titres did not correlate with growth measures (Z-scores) at diagnosis or at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Normalisation of TTG levels occurs within 6-12 months for around half of patients. Higher TTG levels at diagnosis take longer to normalise. The role of compliance is unclear.

Impact of COVID-19 on diagnosis and management of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease during lockdown: a UK nationwide study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has impacted on healthcare provision. Anecdotally, investigations for children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been restricted, resulting in diagnosis with no histological confirmation and potential secondary morbidity. In this study, we detail practice across the UK to assess impact on services and document the impact of the pandemic. METHODS: For the month of April 2020, 20 tertiary paediatric IBD centres were invited to contribute data detailing: (1) diagnosis/management of suspected new patients with IBD; (2) facilities available; (3) ongoing management of IBD; and (4) direct impact of COVID-19 on patients with IBD. RESULTS: All centres contributed. Two centres retained routine endoscopy, with three unable to perform even urgent IBD endoscopy. 122 patients were diagnosed with IBD, and 53.3% (n=65) were presumed diagnoses and had not undergone endoscopy with histological confirmation. The most common induction was exclusive enteral nutrition (44.6%). No patients with a presumed rather than confirmed diagnosis were started on anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy.Most IBD follow-up appointments were able to occur using phone/webcam or face to face. No biologics/immunomodulators were stopped. All centres were able to continue IBD surgery if required, with 14 procedures occurring across seven centres. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic IBD practice has been hugely impacted by COVID-19, with >50% of new diagnoses not having endoscopy. To date, therapy and review of known paediatric patients with IBD has continued. Planning and resourcing for recovery is crucial to minimise continued secondary morbidity.

Generating longitudinal growth charts from preterm infants fed to current recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: To use repeated measurements of weight, length and head circumference to generate growth centile charts reflecting real-world growth of a population of very preterm infants with a well-described nutritional intake close to current recommendations. DESIGN: Infants born before 30 weeks gestational age (GA) were recruited. Infants received nutrition according to an integrated care pathway, with nutrient intake recorded daily, weight recorded twice-weekly and length and head circumference weekly. The LMS method was used to construct growth centile charts between 24 and 36 weeks corrected GA for each parameter. SETTING: A single tertiary neonatal unit in England. PATIENTS: 212 infants (124 male) (median GA at birth: 27.3 weeks, median birth weight: 900 g). RESULTS: Median daily energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat intake were within 3% of published recommendations. The total number of measurements recorded was 5944 (3431 for weight, 1227 for length and 1286 for head circumference). Centile charts were formed for each parameter. Data for male and female infants demonstrated similar patterns of growth and were pooled for LMS analysis. A web application was created and published (bit.ly/sotongrowth) to allow infants to be plotted on these charts with changes in SD score of measurements reported and graphically illustrated. CONCLUSIONS: These charts reflect growth in a real-world cohort of preterm infants whose nutrient intakes are close to current recommendations. This work demonstrates the feasibility of forming growth charts from serial measurements of growing preterm infants fed according to current recommendations which will aid clinicians in setting a benchmark for achievable early growth.

Children and young people with inflammatory bowel disease attend less school than their healthy peers.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), can impact negatively on education and social development. Examining the impact of IBD on school/college attendance for children and young people (CYP) is vital to provide targeted support to patients, families and schools. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional survey to determine the school/college attendance rates, the reasons for absence related to IBD and facilitators or barriers to school/college attendance. In a subset of patients followed up locally, we performed a detailed review of hospital attendance data to assess healthcare burden. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-one questionnaires were given to CYP with IBD aged 5-17 years. Response rate was 74% (final sample 169). The median school/college attendance rate was 92.5%, significantly lower than all children in England (95.2%). 39.6% of children with IBD were persistently absent, defined nationally as missing 10% or more of school. Only five children (3%) had a 100% attendance record. Increasing age and use of monoclonal therapy were predictors of poor school attendance. Concerns about feeling unwell at school/college, access to toilets, keeping up with work and teachers' understanding of IBD are the main issues for CYP with IBD. There was a significant negative correlation between number of days in hospital and school attendance. CONCLUSION: IBD has a significant impact on school/college attendance, with hospital attendance, disease burden and school difficulties being major factors. Employing strategies to minimise healthcare burden and developing a partnership between health and education to support children with IBD will serve to facilitate school/college attendance.

Early postnatal growth failure in preterm infants is not inevitable.

BACKGROUND: Previously published data have demonstrated that preterm infants experience a fall across marked centile lines for weight in early life with early poor head growth also reported. This study describes a single neonatal unit's experience of longitudinal change in weight, head circumference (HC) and length in a cohort of preterm infants born <32 weeks' gestation. METHODS: Data were collected from a single neonatal unit between July 2012 and June 2017. This period followed the introduction of improved nutritional guidelines. Patients were grouped according to their gestational age at birth. Growth lines were constructed for weight, HC and length in each gestational age group from the median measures and compared with reference centile lines. RESULTS: Data were analysed from 396 patients consisting of 2808, 1991 and 2004 measures for weight, HC and length, respectively. Longitudinal growth plots did not show an initial absolute weight loss in any of the subgroups. Across all groups, the mean change in SD score between birth and 36 weeks was -0.27 (95% CI -0.39 to -0.15). CONCLUSIONS: This description of longitudinal growth in a cohort of preterm infants demonstrates that early postnatal growth failure is not inevitable, with most infants growing along a trajectory close to their birth centile. There is no evidence of a 2 marked centile line weight decrease or weight loss. These data provide evidence to suggest that extrauterine weight gain tracking centile lines can be achieved.