Long term remission after ileorectal anastomosis in Crohn's colitis.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease represents a heterogeneous entity, but its location tends to be relatively stable overtime. For extensive refractory Crohn's colitis, ileorectal anastomosis after colectomy is an engaging option, since the necessity of a permanent ileostomy is avoided. AIMS: In our study, the long-term outcome of two groups of patients with Crohn's colitis who underwent colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis was compared. The first group had isolated colonic Crohn's disease without rectal involvement and perianal disease, while the second group included patients who had rectal and/or ileal involvement, with or without perianal disease. METHODS: Between 1996 and 2016, in a single IBD tertiary center, 80 patients with a history of colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis for refractory Crohn's colitis were retrospectively identified. RESULTS: Recurrence of disease was diagnosed in 57/64 of patients with Crohn's colitis with rectal and/or ileal and/or perianal involvement compared with 1/16 of patients with isolated Crohn's colitis without rectal and perianal disease in a median time of recurrence of 2 years (IQR 1-6 years, minimum to maximum, 1-18 years, p < 0.001). Only 6 patients (7,5%) underwent definitive end ileostomy without proctectomy (1 in the noIRP group and 5 in the IRP group). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis may represent a curative option in patients with refractory isolated colitis without rectal and perianal involvement.

The Role of Stress in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multi-factorial systemic disorder which involves immune, genetic and environmental factors. Stress, in its various forms, plays an important role in gastrointestinal diseases and, in particular, in IBD. METHODS: Here, we focus on the environmental stressors in different aspects of IBD (pathogenesis, course and severity of disease) and, in particular, will evaluate the mechanisms by which they may influence IBD. RESULTS: The effect of stress on IBD might be mediated by autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. These nervous pathways are part of the so called "brain-gut axis" which links gastrointestinal integrity and functions to central nervous system acting through the increase of intestinal permeability, bacterial translocation and cytokines network. CONCLUSION: The incidence of emotional disorders is higher in Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis compared to general population. Moreover, depression and anxiety influence the course and the severity of the underlying intestinal disease. Hence, it is important to consider appropriate psychological therapy in IBD patients.

Gut microbiota and gastric disease.

The gut microbiota may be considered a crucial "organ" of human body because of its role in the maintenance of the balance between health as well as disease. It is mainly located in the small bowel and colon, while, the stomach was long thought to be sterile in particular for its high acid production. In particular, stomach was considered "a hostile place" for bacterial growth until the identification of Helicobacter pylori (HP). Now, the stomach and its microbiota can be considered as two different "organs" that share the same place and they have an impact on each other. Indeed, microscopic structures of gastric mucosa (mucus layer and luminal contents) influence local microflora and vice versa. In this article our attention is directed specifically to explain the effects of this "cross-talk" on gastric homeostasis. Gastric microbiota mainly consists of two general groups, namely HP and non-HP bacteria. Here, the relationship between these two populations will be reviewed, focusing on their role in the development of the different gastric disorders, i.e. functional dyspepsia, gastric premalignant lesions (chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia of the gastric mucosa) and gastric cancer. Moreover, we focus on the effects on the gastric microbiota of exogenous interference as diet and use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).

Liver failure in an obese middle-aged woman after biliointestinal bypass.

Obesity is considered an emerging epidemic that is often associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Among the therapeutic options for morbid obesity, bariatric surgery plays an important role when conventional therapies fail. The effects of bariatric surgery on liver function and morphology are controversial in the literature. Liver failure has been reported after jejunoileal bypass (JIB), biliopancreatic diversion and gastric bypass. Biliointestinal bypass (BIB) is considered an effective procedure among recently introduced bariatric surgery techniques. It is a clinically safe, purely malabsorptive operation in which the blind intestinal loop of the JIB is anastomosed to the gallbladder, allowing a portion of bile to transit into excluded intestinal tract. BIB is the only procedure, to our knowledge, to have no liver side effects reported in the literature. We report the case of a young obese woman who developed liver failure 8 mo after BIB. She had a rapid weight loss (70 kg) with a reduction in body mass index of 41% from January to September 2012. Because of a severe hepatic decompensation, she was referred to a transplantation centre. We strongly believe that the most important pathogenetic mechanism involved in the development of liver injury is the rapid weight loss that produced a significant fatty liver infiltration.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy for diagnosis of gastrointestinal lesions.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endoscopical examination is not always sufficient for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal masses. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of gastrointestinal lesions. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated 114 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided biopsy of gastrointestinal masses with a 18G needle. Thirty-two of these patients underwent a 22G fine-needle biopsy for cytology. Histology was compared with a composite standard of reference for diagnosis (i.e. post-surgery histological evaluation in 73 cases and computed tomography or magnetic resonance scan findings, together with a compatible clinical follow-up for at least 24 months, in the remaining 41 cases). Safety was assessed by recording side effects for up to 4h after the procedure. RESULTS: Of the 114 lesions evaluated, 112 were malignant (98.2%) and 2 benign (1.8%). Specimens were adequate for histology in all but one case. Specimens were obtained from the stomach (n=38; 33.3%), small bowel (n=36; 31.6%) and colon (n=40; 35.1%). Diagnosis was correct in 113/114 cases (99.1%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and diagnostic accuracy were 99.1%, 100%, 100%, 66%, and 99%, respectively. One of the 114 patients (0.9%) bled from a gastric GIST. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy of gastrointestinal lesions is a valid alternative when diagnosis of a gastrointestinal mass cannot be obtained with an endoscopical procedure.