Reliability of Intestinal Ultrasound for Evaluating Crohn's Disease Activity Using Point-of-care and Central Reading.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) is increasingly used to assess Crohn's disease (CD) activity in clinical practice. However, application in clinical trials has been limited by heterogeneous scoring methods and concerns about reliability. We aimed to determine the inter- and intra-rater reliability of locally and centrally read IUS parameters for evaluating CD using prospectively performed scans. METHODS: Twenty-four participants with CD and 6 gastroenterologists participated in a 2-day workshop where each participant underwent 6 IUS scans in total. Eight IUS parameters (bowel wall thickness [BWT], bowel wall stratification [BWS], color Doppler signal [CDS], inflammatory mesenteric fat [i-fat], submucosal prominence, submucosal layer thickness, haustra coli/peristalsis, and affected segment length) and an overall measure of sonographic disease activity were blindly assessed by the 6 local readers and 4 central gastroenterologist-sonographers. Reliability was quantified using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Institutional review board approval was granted for this study (12938). RESULTS: Five IUS parameters demonstrated at least moderate (ICC ≥0.41) inter- and intra-rater reliability when local and central reading was performed (BWT, CDS, i-fat, submucosal prominence, and affected segment length). Reliability was generally better with central, in distinction to local, reading. ICCs for BWS and i-fat were highest when evaluated as binary outcomes. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that IUS parameters are most reliable when evaluated in the worst affected segment. Fair reliability was observed when local readers identified the worst affected segment. CONCLUSIONS: Local and central reading of IUS demonstrated at least moderate inter- and intra-rater reliability for several parameters. This study supports refining existing activity indices and incorporating IUS central reading into clinical trials.

US National Estimates of Contemporary Mortality Rates in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Undergoing Colectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Despite a growing armamentarium of medical therapies for ulcerative colitis, colectomy remains an important therapeutic option. To better inform shared decision-making about surgery, we estimated the contemporary risk of mortality after colectomy. METHODS: Mortality rates were estimated using the National Inpatient Sample (2016-2020). Factors associated with postcolectomy death were evaluated in multivariable regression. RESULTS: Postcolectomy mortality occurred in 1.2% (95% CI: 0.8%, 1.9%) of hospitalizations. Comorbidity burden, emergent laparotomy, and delays to surgery >5 days after admission were associated with mortality. DISCUSSION: Colectomy may be associated with mortality; however, this risk is heterogeneous based on patient- and procedural-related factors.

Four intestinal ultrasound scores and bowel wall thickness alone correlated well with pediatric ulcerative colitis disease activity.

OBJECTIVES: Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) is a noninvasive tool in ulcerative colitis (UC), but scoring systems have mostly been developed for adults, Crohn's disease, and flaring UC. Our aim was to evaluate the performance of bowel wall thickness (BWT) and four IUS scores in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed UC. METHODS: Patients <18 years old with suspected UC were prospectively enrolled. Baseline IUS was done, and ulcerative colitis intestinal ultrasound score (UC-IUS), Milan criteria, simple pediatric activity ultrasound score (SPAUSS), and Civatelli index were calculated. Mayo endoscopic segment subscore, pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index (PUCAI), and biomarkers were correlated with IUS using nonparametric and receiver operating characteristic analyses. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients (56% male, median age 13.9 years, interquartile range [IQR] 11.2-16.3) with 206 colon segments were included. Patients who needed hospitalization (n = 27/52) had significantly worse IUS (BWT and all scores) compared to those not hospitalized. For all patients, IUS scores and BWT significantly correlated with baseline endoscopic, clinical, and biochemical disease activity (rho = 0.32-0.67, p < 0.05). BWT (τb = 0.53), UC-IUS (τb = 0.55), and Milan (τb = 0.52) had the strongest endoscopic correlations. For differentiating between endoscopic disease severity, BWT, UC-IUS, and Milan, had the highest areas under the curve (0.89-0.93). Using BWT alone, a thinner cut-off had improved sensitivity while maintaining high specificity: ≥2.5 mm for moderate/severe endoscopic inflammation (sensitivity 66%; specificity 94%) and ≥3.5 mm for severe endoscopic inflammation (sensitivity 92%; specificity 86%). CONCLUSIONS: BWT and all four IUS scores correlated well with endoscopic, clinical, and biochemical disease activity, and was another useful marker of severity in identifying patients needing hospitalization. Pediatric patients needed a thinner BWT cut-off, which should be accounted for when developing pediatric-specific scores. BWT alone may be just as clinically useful as composite US scores.

Comment on "Ultrasonographic scores for ileal Crohn's disease assessment: better, worse or the same as contrast­enhanced ultrasound?"

We read with interest the study by Freitas et al. comparing contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and parameters from a time-intensity curve (TIC) with the SUS-CD score and IBUS-SAS score in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) undergoing gastrointestinal ultrasound (GIUS) and ileocolonoscopy. The aim was to compare the accuracy of CEUS and aforementioned scores in predicting terminal ileal inflammatory activity in patients with CD. In this retrospective study of 50 patients, inflammatory activity was defined as a segmental score of SES-CD ≥ 7 in the terminal ileum. The study found 30 patients with active endoscopic disease demonstrating no significant difference between the "inactive" and "active" SUS CD and IBUS-SAS scores. However, the CEUS peak enhancement derived from the TIC was shown to be significantly different. The authors conclude CEUS was superior for detecting inflammation in the terminal ileum, as opposed to ultrasound scores relying on bowel wall thickness and color Doppler.

Intestinal Ultrasound for the Pediatric Gastroenterologist: A Guide for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Monitoring in Children: Expert Consensus on Behalf of the International Bowel Ultrasound Group (IBUS) Pediatric Committee.

Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) often diagnosed in childhood. A strict monitoring strategy can potentially alter the disease course and facilitate early effective treatment before irreversible bowel damage occurs. Serial colonoscopy in children, the gold standard for monitoring, is impractical. Accurate, real-time, noninvasive markers of disease activity are needed. Intestinal ultrasound is an accurate, noninvasive, real-time, point-of-care, cross-sectional imaging tool used to monitor inflammation in pediatric IBD patients in Europe, Canada, and Australia. It is now emerging in a few expert centers in the United States as a safe, non-radiating, inexpensive, bedside tool used by the treating gastroenterologist for real-time decision-making. Unlike the standard biomarkers of pediatric IBD activity, C-reactive protein, and fecal calprotectin, intestinal ultrasound (IUS) facilitates disease localization, characterizes severity, extent, and accurately detects complications. Perhaps most importantly, IUS may enhance shared understanding and ease the burden of treatment decision-making for both the gastroenterologist and the patient. There is a lack of standardization for bedside IUS among pediatric gastroenterologists. The purpose is to outline a standardized approach to pediatric bedside IUS, including basic equipment requirements and technique, patient selection, preparation and positioning, technical considerations and limitations, documentation of mesenteric and luminal features of IBD, characterization of penetrating disease and strictures, and provide a proposed pediatric IUS monitoring algorithm to guide care.

Pediatric Patient and Caregiver Satisfaction With the Use of Transabdominal Bowel Ultrasound in the Assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

OBJECTIVES: Transabdominal bowel ultrasound (TABUS) is emerging as an attractive, noninvasive tool in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patient and caregiver experience with TABUS is not well described. We aimed to determine pediatric patient and caregiver satisfaction with TABUS and the impact of IBD severity, gender, age, and a history of anxiety on satisfaction. METHODS: Pediatric patients (0-18 years old) with suspected IBD prospectively underwent baseline TABUS, magnetic resonance enterography (MRE), blood work, stool studies, and endoscopy. Patients and their caregiver each completed a cross-sectional satisfaction questionnaire (5-point Likert scale) after the baseline investigations. RESULTS: There were 54 patients included (67% male). The majority were completely satisfied and strongly agree TABUS was better tolerated than other investigations, regardless of disease severity ( P > 0.05). Patients with higher Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn Disease (SES-CD) scores felt that TABUS increased their understanding of their IBD ( P < 0.05) and disease location ( P < 0.05). Patients with Crohn disease had similar responses to those with ulcerative colitis, but more strongly agreed that TABUS was better than MRE and endoscopy ( P < 0.05). Those with anxiety did not have an increased level of worry about potential ultrasound findings ( P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients and their caregivers were highly satisfied with TABUS, preferring it to other modalities. It did not lead to increased worry, and was particularly important in those with severe IBD. These findings support wider implementation of this well tolerated and preferred monitoring tool in pediatrics.

Epidemiologic Burden and Treatment of Chronic Symptomatic Functional Bowel Disorders in the United States: A Nationwide Analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Functional bowel disorders (FBDs) are the most common gastrointestinal problems managed by physicians. We aimed to assess the burden of chronic symptomatic FBDs on ambulatory care delivery in the United States and evaluate patterns of treatment. METHODS: Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey were used to estimate annual rates and associated costs of ambulatory visits for symptomatic irritable bowel syndrome, chronic functional abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea. The weighted proportion of visits associated with pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic (stress/mental health, exercise, diet counseling) interventions were calculated, and predictors of treatment strategy were evaluated in multivariable multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: From 2007-2015, approximately 36.9 million (95% CI, 31.4-42.4) weighted visits in patients of non-federally employed physicians for chronic symptomatic FBDs were sampled. There was an annual weighted average of 2.7 million (95% CI, 2.3-3.2) visits for symptomatic irritable bowel syndrome/chronic abdominal pain, 1.0 million (95% CI, 0.8-1.2) visits for chronic constipation, and 0.7 million (95% CI, 0.5-0.8) visits for chronic diarrhea. Pharmacologic therapies were prescribed in 49.7% (95% CI, 44.7-54.8) of visits compared to nonpharmacologic interventions in 19.8% (95% CI, 16.0-24.2) of visits (P < .001). Combination treatment strategies were more likely to be implemented by primary care physicians and in patients with depression or obesity. The direct annual cost of ambulatory clinic visits alone for chronic symptomatic FBDs is approximately US$358 million (95% CI, 233-482 million). CONCLUSIONS: The management of chronic symptomatic FBDs is associated with considerable health care resource use and cost. There may be an opportunity to improve comprehensive FBD management because fewer than 1 in 5 ambulatory visits include nonpharmacologic treatment strategies.

Frequency of Opioid Prescription at Emergency Department Discharge in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Nationwide Analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently experience chronic pain. Patients will often seek out care in the emergency department (ED) where short-term opioid use may be associated with potential treatment-related complications. We aimed to assess the rate and factors associated with opioid prescription in IBD patients discharged from the ED. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in the US National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) from 2006-2017. We determined the proportion of adult patients (≥18 years) with IBD prescribed an opioid in ED or at ED discharge. Logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors of opioid prescription. Time-trend analysis was performed to evaluate temporal patterns in opioid use. All analyses were adjusted for complex survey design. RESULTS: We identified ∼965,000 weighted discharges from the ED for patients with IBD. In total, 51.9% [95% CI: 42.2% -61.6%] of visits resulted in opioid administration in ED and 35.3% [95% CI: 26.5% -45.2%] of IBD-related ED discharges were associated with an opioid prescription. IBD patients with moderate/severe pain (adjusted odds ratio aOR 5.06 [95% CI: 1.72 -14.90], p < 0.01) were more likely to receive opioids whereas older age (aOR 0.73 per decade [95% CI: 0.55 -0.98], p = 0.04) were less likely. In temporal analysis, a trend towards decreasing opioid use in ED and opioid prescriptions at discharge was observed in 2015-2017. CONCLUSIONS: More than one third of IBD patients are prescribed an opioid at discharge from ED, highlighting a potential gap in care for accessing effective pain management solutions in this population.

Assessing National Trends and Disparities in Ambulatory, Emergency Department, and Inpatient Visits for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the United States (2005-2016).

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) require repeated health care encounters, although the focus of care differs when patients are seen in ambulatory, emergency department (ED), or inpatient settings. We examined contemporary trends and disparities in IBD-related health care visits. METHODS: We used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, and the National Inpatient Sample to estimate the total number of annual IBD-related visits from 2005 through 2016. We performed logistic regression analyses to test temporal linear trends. Slope and differences in distributions of patient demographics were compared across time and treatment settings. RESULTS: From 2005 through 2016, approximately 2.2 million IBD-related ambulatory visits (95 CI, 1.9-2.5) occurred annually on average, increasing by 70.3% from the time period of 2005 to 2007 through the time period of 2008 to 2010, and decreasing by 19.8% from the time period of 2011 to 2013 through the time period of 2014 to 2016. An average of 115,934 IBD-related ED visits (95% CI, 113,758-118,111) and 89,111 IBD-related hospital discharges (95% CI, 87,416-90,807) occurred annually. Significant increases in the rate of IBD-related ED visits (3.2 visits/10,000 encounters; P < .0001) and hospital discharges (6.0 discharges/10,000 encounters; P < .0001) were observed from 2005 through 2016. The proportion of patients paying with private insurance decreased from 2005 through 2016, among all care settings. A greater proportion of young patients, patients with Crohn's disease, non-white patients, and patients with Medicare or Medicaid used hospital-based vs ambulatory services. CONCLUSIONS: In an analysis of data from 3 large databases, we found that although IBD-related ambulatory visits stabilized to decreased from 2005 through 2016, rates of ED use and admission to the hospital have continued to increase with changes in patient demographics, over time and among care settings.

The Simple Pediatric Activity Ultrasound Score (SPAUSS) for the Accurate Detection of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to identify the most significant ultrasound (US) parameters that predict inflammatory activity and develop a simple US activity score. METHODS: Patients were identified through retrospective evaluation of an established database of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients with endoscopy and US within 60 days were included (N = 75). US parameters evaluated included: bowel wall thickness (BWT), mesenteric inflammatory fat, lymphadenopathy, and hyperemia. The weighted kappa statistic was calculated to assess agreement between sonographic and endoscopically identified disease location. Using a proportional odds model and ordinal logistic regression, statistically significant (P < 0.05) parameters were used to generate a score. Variables were weighted to classify individuals into severity classes. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted to demonstrate the score's discriminative and predictive capacity. RESULTS: There was substantial agreement between US and endoscopy for all disease locations (weighted kappa = 0.85) and substantial agreement for ileocolonic disease (weighted kappa = 0.96). Two sonographic parameters were identified as contributing significantly to disease activity: BWT and mesenteric inflammatory fat (P < 0.05). A predictive score was developed incorporating BWT, hyperemia and inflammatory fat, and receiver operating characteristic curve curves demonstrated good predictive capacity to distinguish between the absence of disease (normal) and active disease with an area under the curve of 82.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The most important sonographic parameters for predicting disease activity were BWT and mesenteric inflammatory fat. When combined with hyperemia into a simple score, there was accurate detection of inflammatory activity in children with inflammatory bowel disease. This score may facilitate noninvasive, bedside detection of inflammation, and standardize the use of US in children.

Bowel Ultrasound State of the Art: Grayscale and Doppler Ultrasound, Contrast Enhancement, and Elastography in Crohn Disease.

Bowel ultrasound (US) is accurate for assessing bowel inflammation and complications in Crohn disease. Additionally, contrast-enhanced US provides a quantitative, objective measurement of inflammatory activity in inflammatory bowel disease, and shear wave elastography predicts the stiffness of bowel, an increase of which suggests less response to medical therapy, often necessitating surgery. Overall, bowel US is an excellent, safe, and repeatable choice for routine surveillance and for urgent imaging. We describe an approach to evaluating inflammatory bowel disease and review its features on standard grayscale US with Doppler imaging and show how contrast-enhanced US and shear wave elastography can distinguish between inflammatory and fibrostenotic bowel.

Gastrointestinal ultrasound in inflammatory bowel disease: an underused resource with potential paradigm-changing application.

Evolution of treatment targets in IBD has increased the need for objective monitoring of disease activity to guide therapeutic strategy. Although mucosal healing is the current target of therapy in IBD, endoscopy is invasive, expensive and unappealing to patients. GI ultrasound (GIUS) represents a non-invasive modality to assess disease activity in IBD. It is accurate, cost-effective and reproducible. GIUS can be performed at the point of care without specific patient preparation so as to facilitate clinical decision-making. As compared with ileocolonoscopy and other imaging modalities (CT and MRI), GIUS is accurate in diagnosing IBD, detecting complications of disease including fistulae, strictures and abscesses, monitoring disease activity and detecting postoperative disease recurrence. International groups increasingly recognise GIUS as a valuable tool with paradigm-changing application in the management of IBD; however, uptake outside parts of continental Europe has been slow and GIUS is underused in many countries. The aim of this review is to present a pragmatic guide to the positioning of GIUS in IBD clinical practice, providing evidence for use, algorithms for integration into practice, training pathways and a strategic implementation framework.

A Randomized Trial Comparing High Definition Colonoscopy Alone With High Definition Dye Spraying and Electronic Virtual Chromoendoscopy for Detection of Colonic Neoplastic Lesions During IBD Surveillance Colonoscopy.

OBJECTIVES: Dye spraying chromoendoscopy (DCE) is recommended for the detection of colonic neoplastic lesions in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The majority of neoplastic lesions are visible endoscopically and therefore targeted biopsies are appropriate for surveillance colonoscopy. To compare three different techniques for surveillance colonoscopy to detect colonic neoplastic lesions in IBD patients: high definition (HD), (DCE), or virtual chromoendoscopy (VCE) using iSCAN image enhanced colonoscopy. METHODS: A randomized non-inferiority trial was conducted to determine the detection rates of neoplastic lesions in IBD patients with longstanding colitis. Patients with inactive disease were enrolled into three arms of the study. Endoscopic neoplastic lesions were classified by the Paris classification and Kudo pit pattern, then histologically classified by the Vienna classification. RESULTS: A total of 270 patients (55% men; age range 20-77 years, median age 49 years) were assessed by HD (n=90), VCE (n=90), or DCE (n=90). Neoplastic lesion detection rates in the VCE arm was non-inferior to the DCE arm. HD was non-inferior to either DCE or VCE for detection of all neoplastic lesions. In the lesions detected, location at right colon and the Kudo pit pattern were predictive of neoplastic lesions (OR 6.52 (1.98-22.5 and OR 21.50 (8.65-60.10), respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In this randomized trial, VCE or HD-WLE is not inferior to dye spraying colonoscopy for detection of colonic neoplastic lesions during surveillance colonoscopy. In fact, in this study HD-WLE alone was sufficient for detection of dysplasia, adenocarcinoma or all neoplastic lesions.

Corrigendum: Surgical Rates for Crohn's Disease Are Decreasing: A Population-Based Time Trend Analysis and Validation Study.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2017.394.

Surgical Rates for Crohn's Disease are Decreasing: A Population-Based Time Trend Analysis and Validation Study.

OBJECTIVES: Temporal changes for intestinal resections for Crohn's disease (CD) are controversial. We validated administrative database codes for CD diagnosis and surgery in hospitalized patients and then evaluated temporal trends in CD surgical resection rates. METHODS: First, we validated International Classification of Disease (ICD)-10-CM coding for CD diagnosis in hospitalized patients and Canadian Classification of Health Intervention coding for surgical resections. Second, we used these validated codes to conduct population-based surveillance between fiscal years 2002 and 2010 to identify adult CD patients undergoing intestinal resection (n=981). Annual surgical rate was calculated by dividing incident surgeries by estimated CD prevalence. Time trend analysis was performed and annual percent change (APC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in surgical resection rates were calculated using a generalized linear model assuming a Poisson distribution. RESULTS: In the validation cohort, 101/104 (97.1%) patients undergoing surgery and 191/200 (95.5%) patients admitted without surgery were confirmed to have CD on chart review. Among the 116 administrative database codes for surgical resection, 97.4% were confirmed intestinal resections on chart review. From 2002 to 2010, the overall CD surgical resection rate was 3.8 resections per 100 person-years. During the study period, rate of surgery decreased by 3.5% per year (95% CI: -1.1%, -5.8%), driven by decreasing emergent operations (-10.1% per year (95% CI: -13.4%, -6.7%)) whereas elective surgeries increased by 3.7% per year (95% CI: 0.1%, 7.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall surgical resection rates in CD are decreasing, but a paradigm shift has occurred whereby elective operations are now more commonly performed than emergent surgeries.

Targeted Biopsies Identify Larger Proportions of Patients With Colonic Neoplasia Undergoing High-Definition Colonoscopy, Dye Chromoendoscopy, or Electronic Virtual Chromoendoscopy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: It is unclear what are the best and most appropriate endoscopic procedures for detecting colonic neoplasia in patients with long-term colonic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dye chromoendoscopy (DCE) is the standard used in IBD surveillance colonoscopies. However, studies are needed to determine the optimal endoscopic technique for detecting dysplastic lesions. We investigated current practices used in surveillance colonoscopies by IBD gastroenterologists at a single tertiary center. We also determined the rate of neoplasia detection among different surveillance endoscopic techniques in an analysis of random or targeted biopsies. METHODS: We collected data on 454 patients with IBD (54.5% male; mean age, 50 y; mean disease duration, 14.5 y; 55.9% with ulcerative colitis, 42.7% with Crohn's disease, and 1.3% with indeterminate colitis) who underwent surveillance colonoscopy from April 2011 through March 2014 at the University of Calgary in Canada. Subjects were examined using white-light standard-definition endoscopy (WLE), high-definition (HD) colonoscopy, virtual electronic chromoendoscopy (VCE), or DCE; random or targeted biopsy specimens were collected. Endoscopic and histologic descriptions with suspected neoplasia were recorded. Rates of neoplasia detection by the different endoscopic procedures were compared using chi-square analysis. RESULTS: Of the patients analyzed, 27.7% had WLE endoscopy with random collection of biopsy specimens, 27.3% had HD colonoscopy with random collection of biopsy specimens, 14.1% had VCE with random collection of biopsy specimens, 0.9% had DCE with random collection of biopsy specimens, 12.8% had HD colonoscopy with collection of targeted biopsy specimens, 11.9% had VCE with collection of targeted biopsy specimens, and 5.3% had DCE with collection of targeted biopsy specimens. Neoplastic lesions were detected in 8.2% of the procedures performed in the random biopsy group (95% confidence interval, 5.6-11.7) and 19.1% of procedures in the targeted biopsy group (95% confidence interval, 13.4-26.5) (P < .001). Neoplasias were detected in similar proportions of patients by HD colonoscopy, VCE, or DCE, with targeted biopsy collection. CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of IBD patients undergoing surveillance colonoscopy, targeted biopsies identified greater proportions of subjects with neoplasia than random biopsies. Targeted collection of biopsy specimens appears to be sufficient for detecting colonic neoplasia in patients undergoing HD colonoscopy, DCE, or VCE, but not WLE.

Postoperative Mortality Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Population-Based Studies.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: There have been varying reports of mortality after intestinal resection for the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies to determine postoperative mortality after intestinal resection in patients with IBD. METHODS: We searched Medline, EMBASE, and PubMed, from 1990 through 2015, to identify 18 articles and 3 abstracts reporting postoperative mortality among patients with IBD. The studies included 67,057 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 75,971 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), from 15 countries. Mortality estimates stratified by emergent and elective surgeries were pooled separately for CD and UC using a random-effects model. To assess changes over time, the start year of the study was included as a continuous variable in a meta-regression model. RESULTS: In patients with UC, postoperative mortality was significantly lower among patients who underwent elective (0.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6%-0.9%) vs emergent surgery (5.3%; 95% CI, 3.8%-7.4%). In patients with CD, postoperative mortality was significantly lower among patients who underwent elective (0.6%; 95% CI, 0.2%-1.7%) vs emergent surgery (3.6%; 95% CI, 1.8%-6.9%). Postoperative mortality did not differ for elective (P = .78) or emergent (P = .31) surgeries when patients with UC were compared with patients with CD. Postoperative mortality decreased significantly over time for patients with CD (P < .05) but not UC (P = .21). CONCLUSIONS: Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis, postoperative mortality was high after emergent, but not elective, intestinal resection in patients with UC or CD. Optimization of management strategies and more effective therapies are necessary to avoid emergent surgeries.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to peptic ulcer disease is not associated with air pollution: a case-crossover study.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated an association between short-term elevations in air pollution and an increased risk of exacerbating gastrointestinal disease. The objective of the study was to evaluate if day-to-day increases in air pollution concentrations were positively associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) secondary to peptic ulcer disease (PUD). METHODS: A time-stratified case-crossover study design was used. Adults presenting to hospitals with their first UGIB secondary to PUD from 2004-2010 were identified using administrative databases from Calgary (n = 1374; discovery cohort) and Edmonton (n = 1159; replication cohort). Daily concentrations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) were estimated in these two cities. Conditional logistic regression models were employed, adjusting for temperature and humidity. Odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were expressed relative to an interquartile range increase in the concentration of each pollutant. RESULTS: No statistically significant associations were observed for any of the individual pollutants based on same-day, or 1-day lag effects within the Calgary discovery cohort. When the air pollution exposures were assessed as 3-, 5-, and 7-day averages, some pollutants were inversely associated with UGIB in the discovery cohort; for example, 5-day averages of nitrogen dioxide (OR = 0.68; 95 % CI: 0.53-0.88), and particulate matter <2.5 µm (OR = 0.75; 95 % CI: 0.61-0.90). However, these findings could not be reproduced in the replication cohort. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that short-term elevations in the level of ambient air pollutants does not increase the incidence of UGIB secondary to PUD.

Primary Care Support Tools for Digestive Health Care: A Mixed Method Study.

Background: To address the increasing demands for gastroenterology specialty care and increasing wait times, centralized access and triage (CAT) systems, telephone support, and clinical care pathways were implemented to streamline referrals and support management of low-risk gastrointestinal (GI) conditions in the primary care medical home. This study aimed to understand primary care providers (PCPs) and GI specialists' perceptions of these supports, factors that affect support implementation and identify barriers and facilitators for implementing supports from both PCP and GI specialists' perspectives. Methods: We conducted a mixed method study including surveys and interviews with PCPs and GI specialists. Online surveys and semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted from July 2022 to September 2022. All interviews were transcribed and coded to perform a thematic analysis. Survey data were analyzed in SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize and describe the data collected. Inferential statistics were used to identify associations and relationships within the dataset. T-test and chi-square tests were applied at 95% confidence level, with a p value <0.05 (two-sided) considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 36 PCPs responded to the survey. Most respondents were working full-time (73.5%, n = 25) and were female (73.5%, n = 25). Overall, 42% used the pathways regularly, 48% (n = 16) used them occasionally, and very few (9.1%, n = 3) said they were aware but had not used pathways. Overall, PCPs were satisfied with CAT processes and the use of primary care pathways, recognizing the importance of fair and equitable access to specialty care. Specific processes in CAT for vulnerable populations and patients using walk-in clinics were recognized as a limitation, given the lack of ease in completing the required testing and follow-up needed when utilizing the care pathway. Of the 112 GI specialists who received the survey, 28 (25%) completed it, with males (50.0%, n = 14) and females (39.2%, n = 11), remainder no response. Most participate in CAT (73.9%, n = 17) and were remunerated by an alternative relationship plan (ARP) (53.6%, n = 15). Overall, GIs were satisfied with central triaging and primary care pathways, reducing unnecessary time and resource expenditure for referrals. There were statistically significant differences in perceptions among fee for service and alternative relationship plan GI specialists regarding the effectiveness of CAT in improving access and use of health system resources. Conclusion: Overall, PCPs and GI specialists believe utilizing CAT and primary care pathways improves referral quality, reduces resource expenditure, and provides fair and equitable access to GI specialty services. Improvement in CAT processes with improved pathway awareness may reduce unnecessary referrals.