Plasma bile acids in association with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: In addition to facilitating lipid digestions, bile acids (BA) are signalling molecules acting on receptors on immune cells and along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The aim of this study was to assess if altered bile acid profiles in plasma are associated with Crohn's disease (CD). METHOD: This cross-sectional study included individuals (aged ≥18 years) referred for colonoscopy at a tertiary centre in Stockholm between 2016 and 2019. All participants received bowel preparation, completed a lifestyle questionnaire and provided blood samples for analysis. During colonoscopy, severity of disease was graded, and biopsies were taken from colonic mucosa. In the current substudy, 88 individuals with CD and 88 age-matched controls were selected for analysis of BA in plasma with ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Linear regression models were then used to compare mean bile acid concentrations and concentration ratios between CD and controls. RESULTS: Individuals with CD had lower plasma concentrations of the majority of secondary BA compared to controls, in total CD/CC ratio 0.60 (SE 0.12), p = 0.001. The most prominent observations were lower levels of deoxycolic acid derivates and lithocolic acid derivates among participants with CD. Moreover, plasma concentration for secondary BA among participants with active CD was significantly lower compared to those with CD in remission, CD active/CD remission ratio 0.65 (SE 0.11), p < 0.002. CONCLUSION: Crohn's disease may be associated with altered plasma bile acid composition. The significance of colonic bacterial diversity in this context needs to be investigated in further studies.

It is known that Crohn's disease is associated with dysbiosis in the gut microbiota and that primary bile acids are transformed to secondary bile acids by bacterial enzymes in the gut before reabsorbed and transported back to the liver.In this cross-sectional study, Crohn's disease was associated with lower concentrations of secondary bile acids in blood plasmaThe findings should encourage further studies the role of the gut microbiome and bile acid metabolism in development of Crohn's disease and bile acid profile as a biomarker for bowel inflammation.

Functional and Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes into Adulthood for Females Surgically Treated for Anorectal Malformation.

BACKGROUND: Controlled outcomes into adulthood for females with anorectal malformation (ARM) are still scantily studied. The primary aim was to investigate bowel function, bladder function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in females operated for ARM. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based observational study was performed including females treated for ARM at our institution between 1994 and 2017. The bowel function was assessed with bowel function score (BFS) and urinary tract function with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) questionnaires. HRQoL was investigated with validated age-dependent questionnaires. Patient characteristics were retrospectively retrieved from the medical records and descriptive statistics were used for analysis. HRQoL outcomes were compared with normative data whilst bowel and bladder function outcomes were compared to age-matched female controls. RESULTS: Forty-four (41.5 %) of 106 females responded to the questionnaires. Ten of 29 patients (34.5 %) aged 4-17 years and 4 of 14 patients (28.6%) aged ≥18 years, reported a well-preserved bowel function (BFS≥17). Constipation issues decreased with age. BFS was similar in patients with perineal and vestibular fistulas. Thirty-six (83.7%) of the patients had at least one LUTS. No adult patients had issues with involuntary urinary leakage. Adults scored significantly (p = 0.004) lower than normative data regarding HRQoL, while children and adolescents scored comparably to norm data. CONCLUSIONS: Only 28.6 % of the adult patients reported a well-preserved bowel function, similar to the proportion reported by children 4-17 years of age. Adult patients appear to have a diminished HRQoL, however the correlation with BFS was weak. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Hydrops and congenital diaphragmatic hernia: reported incidence and postnatal outcomes. Analysis of the congenital diaphragmatic hernia study group registry.

OBJECTIVE: Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) associated with hydrops is rare. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence of this combination of anomalies and the postnatal outcomes from a large database for CDH. STUDY DESIGN: Data from the multicenter, multinational database on infants with prenatally diagnosed CDH (CDHSG Registry) born from 2015 to 2021 were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 3985 patients were entered in the registry during the study period, 3156 were prenatally diagnosed and 88 were reported to have associated fluid in at least 1 compartment, representing 2.8% of all prenatally diagnosed CDH cases in the registry. The overall survival to discharge for CDH patients with hydrops was 43%. The hydropic CDH group had lower birth weight and gestational age at birth, and increased incidence of right-sided CDH (55%), and rate of non-repair (45%). However, the survival rate for hydropic infants with CDH undergoing surgical repair was 80%. Other associated anomalies were more common in hydropic CDH (50% vs 37%, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Hydropic CDH is rare, only 2.8% of all prenatally diagnosed cases, and more commonly occurring in right-sided CDH. Survival rates are low, with higher rates of non-repair. However, decision-making regarding goals of care and an aggressive surgical approach in selected cases may result in survival rates comparable to non-hydropic cases.