Post COVID-19 irritable bowel syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: The long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection on the gastrointestinal tract remain unclear. Here, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and post-COVID-19 disorders of gut-brain interaction after hospitalisation for SARS-CoV-2 infection. DESIGN: GI-COVID-19 is a prospective, multicentre, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were evaluated on hospital admission and after 1, 6 and 12 months post hospitalisation. Gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety and depression were assessed using validated questionnaires. RESULTS: The study included 2183 hospitalised patients. The primary analysis included a total of 883 patients (614 patients with COVID-19 and 269 controls) due to the exclusion of patients with pre-existing gastrointestinal symptoms and/or surgery. At enrolment, gastrointestinal symptoms were more frequent among patients with COVID-19 than in the control group (59.3% vs 39.7%, p<0.001). At the 12-month follow-up, constipation and hard stools were significantly more prevalent in controls than in patients with COVID-19 (16% vs 9.6%, p=0.019 and 17.7% vs 10.9%, p=0.011, respectively). Compared with controls, patients with COVID-19 reported higher rates of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to Rome IV criteria: 0.5% versus 3.2%, p=0.045. Factors significantly associated with IBS diagnosis included history of allergies, chronic intake of proton pump inhibitors and presence of dyspnoea. At the 6-month follow-up, the rate of patients with COVID-19 fulfilling the criteria for depression was higher than among controls. CONCLUSION: Compared with controls, hospitalised patients with COVID-19 had fewer problems of constipation and hard stools at 12 months after acute infection. Patients with COVID-19 had significantly higher rates of IBS than controls. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04691895.

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection: Results of the Prospective Controlled Multinational GI-COVID-19 Study.

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) have been reported with great variability and without standardization. In hospitalized patients, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of GI symptoms, factors associated with their occurrence, and variation at 1 month. METHODS: The GI-COVID-19 is a prospective, multicenter, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were recruited at hospital admission and asked for GI symptoms at admission and after 1 month, using the validated Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale questionnaire. RESULTS: The study included 2036 hospitalized patients. A total of 871 patients (575 COVID+ and 296 COVID-) were included for the primary analysis. GI symptoms occurred more frequently in patients with COVID-19 (59.7%; 343/575 patients) than in the control group (43.2%; 128/296 patients) (P < 0.001). Patients with COVID-19 complained of higher presence or intensity of nausea, diarrhea, loose stools, and urgency as compared with controls. At a 1-month follow-up, a reduction in the presence or intensity of GI symptoms was found in COVID-19 patients with GI symptoms at hospital admission. Nausea remained increased over controls. Factors significantly associated with nausea persistence in COVID-19 were female sex, high body mass index, the presence of dyspnea, and increased C-reactive protein levels. DISCUSSION: The prevalence of GI symptoms in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is higher than previously reported. Systemic and respiratory symptoms are often associated with GI complaints. Nausea may persist after the resolution of COVID-19 infection.

Clinical management of patients with gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms associated with chronic atrophic gastritis: a retrospective, multicentre study.

To provide data regarding clinical presentation, pathological features, management, and response to different treatments of patients with type I gastric neuroendocrine tumors in stages 0-2A. The study design consist of an Italian multicentre, retrospective analysis of patients with type I gastric neuroendocrine tumors managed with different therapeutic approaches: surgery, endoscopic surveillance, endoscopic resection, or somatostatin analog therapy. Among the 97 patients included, 3 underwent surgery, 45 (46.4%) radical endoscopic resection of the neoplastic lesions, 13 (13.4%) follow-up with upper endoscopy, and 36 (37.1%) somatostatin analog therapy. At the end of the follow-up, all patients were alive and there was no evidence of metastatic disease. Somatostatin analog therapy resulted in a complete response in 76.0% of the patients and stable disease in 24.0%. A prolonged period of therapy, the use of a full dose of somatostatin analogs and higher gastrin levels at diagnosis were related to a complete response to the therapy. The recurrence rate was 26.3% in patients treated with somatostatin analog therapy and 26.2% in patients treated with endoscopic resection, without a statistically significant difference in terms of disease-free survival. Regarding recurrence of the disease, no statistical difference was found according to type of therapy, number of neoplastic lesions, and 2010 WHO classification. The only risk factor for tumor recurrence was a short period of medical treatment. In conclusion, our study suggested that endoscopic surveillance, endoscopic resection and somatostatin analog therapy represent valid options in the management of patients with type I gastric neuroendocrine tumors in stages 0-2A.

Fulminant type 1 autoimmune hepatitis in a recently diagnosed celiac disease patient.

Celiac disease (CD) is a small intestine immune-mediated disorder triggered by gluten ingestion in genetically predisposed patients. This condition can also affect many extraintestinal tissues, including the liver. We report a patient presenting with a marked increase of transaminases at diagnosis of CD. The immune markers for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) were negative. Following a few months of a strict gluten-free diet (GFD), aminotransferase levels decreased significantly (< 2.5x U/L). The response to GFD suggested that the liver damage was due to a gluten-dependent celiac hepatitis, the most common liver abnormality in CD. Despite the fact that the patient never stopped the GFD, yet, in a few months, the aminotransferase levels raise again to high values (> 50x U/L). At this time, the liver autoantibodies turned to be positive thus confirming the development of a type 1 AIH. The hepatic damage progressed to a late onset liver failure requiring liver transplantation.

Radiolabelled somatostatin analogue treatment in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours: factors associated with response and suggestions for therapeutic sequence.

PURPOSE: Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is a relatively new treatment modality for patients with unresectable or metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP NETs). The aim of this study was to determine the time to progression of patients treated with PRRT and to identify the prognostic factors related to treatment response. METHODS: Patients with sporadic GEP NETs prospectively treated with PRRT were retrospectively analysed. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: A total of 69 patients (37 men and 32 women; 45 with pancreatic and 24 with gastrointestinal lesion; 22 NET G1 and 41 NET G2) were treated with (90)Y or (177)Lu. The objective response rate was 27.5% (partial response, PR), while 50.7% had stable disease and 23.2% had progressive disease. Significant differences in PFS were observed in relationship to the stage of the disease (44 months for stage III, 23 months for stage IV), the evidence of a PR 6 months after the end of the PRRT (39 months in patients with a PR, 22 months in patients without a PR) and previous transarterial chemoembolization (TACE, yes 13 months vs no 31 months). Stage IV, NET G2 and previous TACE were found to be significant factors for tumour progression at multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Low tumour burden and a low proliferation index represent independent prognostic factors for long PFS, while previous chemoembolization techniques represent independent prognostic factors for early tumour progression and shorter PFS. Our data suggest that chemoembolization techniques to reduce the hepatic tumour burden should be avoided.