The burden and management of anemia in Greek patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a retrospective, multicenter, observational study.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is a common extraintestinal manifestation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affecting negatively the patients' quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and real-life management of anemia in IBD patients in Greece. METHODS: This study was conducted in 17 Greek IBD referral centers. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, IBD and anemia treatment data were collected and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 1394 IBD patients [560 ulcerative colitis (UC), 834 Crohn's disease (CD)] were enrolled. Anemia at any time was reported in 687 (49.3%) patients of whom 413 (29.6%) had episodic and 274 (19.7%) had recurrent/persistent anemia. Anemia was diagnosed before IBD in 45 (6.5%), along with IBD in 269 (39.2%) and after IBD in 373 (54.3%) patients. In the multivariate analysis the presence of extraintestinal manifestations (p = 0.0008), IBD duration (p = 0.026), IBD related surgeries and hospitalizations (p = 0.026 and p = 0.004 accordingly) were risk factors of recurrent/persistent anemia. Serum ferritin was measured in 839 (60.2%) IBD patients. Among anemic patients, 535 (77.9%) received treatment. Iron supplementation was administered in 485 (90.6%) patients, oral in 142 (29.3%) and intravenous in 393 (81%). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of anemia in IBD patients, followed at Greek referral centers, is approximately 50%. Development of recurrent/persistent anemia may be observed in 20% of cases and is independently associated with the presence of extraintestinal manifestations, IBD duration, IBD related surgeries and hospitalizations. Anemia treatment is administered in up to [Formula: see text] of anemia IBD patients with the majority of them receiving iron intravenously.

Sustained rise of portal pressure after sclerotherapy, but not band ligation, in acute variceal bleeding in cirrhosis.

During variceal bleeding, several factors may increase portal pressure, which in turn may precipitate further bleeding. This study investigates the early effects of endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) and endoscopic band ligation (EBL) on hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) during acute bleeding and the possible influence in outcome. In 50 cirrhotic patients with bleeding esophageal varices treated with EIS (n = 25) or EBL (n = 25), we performed repeated HVPG measurements before and immediately after endoscopic treatment (time 0) and every 24 hours for a 5-day period. Endotherapy was continued until the varices were too small for further treatment. Both groups were comparable with regard to age, gender, Child-Turcotte-Pugh grade, and HVPG. In the EBL and EIS groups, a significant (P <.0001) increase was observed in mean portal pressure (20.7 mm Hg +/- 4.4 SD and 21.5 mm Hg +/- 4.5 SD, respectively) immediately after treatment (time 0) as compared with pretreatment (18.1 +/- 4.5 and 18.1 +/- 4.0). However, HVPG in the EBL group returned to baseline values within 48 hours after treatment, while in the EIS group it remained high during the 120-hour study period (P <.0001). Bleeding stopped in all patients after endotherapy. During the 42-day follow-up period, the rebleeding rate over time was lower in the EBL group compared with the EIS group (P =.024). Patients with an initial HVPG greater than 16 mm Hg had, despite endoscopic treatment, a significantly higher likelihood of death (P =.024) and overall failure (P =.037) [correction]. In conclusion, during acute variceal bleeding EIS, but not EBL, causes a sustained increase in HVPG, which is followed by a higher rebleeding rate.