Safety of anti-TNF agents in pregnancy.

Inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Active maternal disease during pregnancy is associated with additional negative outcomes. Anti-TNF agents are effective treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis. These agents cross the placenta starting in the second trimester, with levels detected for several months after birth. This has led to safety concerns, with continued therapy during pregnancy for both the mother and the infant. This review covers retrospective and prospective data published from various cohorts of pregnant women exposed to anti-TNF agents during pregnancy. It highlights the safety of anti-TNF drugs in pregnancy, breast-feeding, and during the first year of life of the infant.

Women's Health in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

About half of all inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are women. It is important that physicians are aware of gender-specific needs women with IBD may have. This review covers general and specific women's health issues related to their IBD. It is intended to be practical and give a brief overview of topics including body image, menstruation, contraception, cervical cancer screening, preconception counseling, anxiety, depression, pregnancy, breastfeeding, menopause, skin exams, vaccines, laboratory monitoring and bone health.

Crohn's Disease of the Esophagus: Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes in the Biologic Era.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal Crohn's disease (CD) is challenging and often a disabling phenotype of disease. We aimed to report the clinical, endoscopic, histologic features, and treatment outcomes of esophageal patients with CD. METHODS: Esophageal patients with CD evaluated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, between January, 1998, and December, 2012, were identified. RESULTS: Twenty-four cases of esophageal CD were identified. The median age of diagnosis was 23 years (range, 12-60). Twenty-one patients (88%) had extraesophageal CD and 8 patients (33%) had oral ulcers at the time of esophageal CD symptom onset. The majority of patients had esophageal-specific symptoms. Mid (29%) or distal (29%) esophagus was the most common site of involvement. Inflammatory esophageal CD (75%) was marked by superficial ulcerations (58%), erythema and/or erosions (50%), deep ulcerations (13%), and pseudopolyps (4%) on endoscopy. Four patients (17%) were found to have esophageal strictures and 2 patients (8%) had fistulizing disease. Chronic inflammation (83%) was seen on biopsy in the majority of cases with 5 patients having associated granulomas. In our series, inflammatory esophageal CD responded to prednisone, topical budesonide, or biologics. Stricturing esophageal CD was successfully treated with a combination of biologic therapy, immunomodulators, and serial dilations with/without steroid injections. Aggressive medical therapy with biologics and endoscopic therapy was used for fistulizing esophageal CD, however, was not universally effective. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal CD should be considered in all patients with CD with upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Early recognition, diagnosis, and aggressive medical and/or endoscopic treatment are needed for successful outcomes.

Ipilimumab-induced colitis in patients with metastatic melanoma.

Ipilimumab is used for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is associated with serious immune-related colitis. We aimed to report the clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of patients with ipilimumab-induced colitis. In this retrospective observational study, we identified patients with unresectable melanoma treated with ipilimumab between March 2011 and September 2013. Diarrhea was assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, v3.0. Colitis was defined by diarrhea (grade≥2) requiring steroids with or without endoscopic/histologic/radiologic evidence of colitis. A total of 103 patients with metastatic melanoma treated with ipilimumab were identified. Of these, 30 patients (29%) developed diarrhea (all grades), and 23 patients (22%) developed colitis requiring systemic corticosteroid therapy. The median number of ipilimumab doses before onset of diarrhea was 2 (range, 1-4). Six of 23 patients responded to less than 1 mg/kg daily prednisone alone. Fifteen patients required high-dose oral and/or intravenous prednisone (1-2 mg/kg body weight). Six patients had diarrhea refractory to prednisone; five required rescue therapy with budesonide (9-12 mg daily) and one was treated with infliximab (5 mg/kg, three doses). There was one case of severe diarrhea (grade 3) treated successfully with high-dose budesonide (12 mg) monotherapy. Ipilimumab-induced colitis requires early and aggressive medical therapy. Most patients can be successfully managed with systemic corticosteroids. High-dose budesonide is an attractive steroid-sparing agent, however further studies of its efficacy in this setting are needed. Infliximab should be used in refractory cases to avoid colectomy.

Inflammatory bowel disease in women of reproductive age.

Management of inflammatory bowel disease in women of reproductive age requires special attention. Even though fertility in women without previous pelvis surgery is similar to the general population, active disease at conception and during pregnancy can lead to unfavorable pregnancy and fetal outcomes. In general, most medications needed to treat inflammatory bowel disease are low risk during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Achieving and maintaining disease remission, patient education, and a multidisciplinary team approach is the key to a successful pregnancy.