Therapy for Crohn's Disease: a Review of Recent Developments.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review recent advances in the treatment of Crohn's disease. RECENT FINDINGS: Several key advances are highlighted, including the increasing role of treatment algorithms and where new therapies can be used most effectively, the appropriate use of therapeutic drug monitoring, optimal management of post-surgical patients, and the role of multi-disciplinary clinics. The last several years have seen a number of exciting developments in the field of Crohn's therapy. This review covers research advances including updated treatment algorithms focusing on identifying patient risk as well as the role of drug monitoring in managing the disease. We also review the optimal management of post-surgical patients as well as new biologics and biosimilars. Finally, we describe innovations in care delivery including multi-disciplinary clinics and emerging evidence from developing therapeutics.

Recent advances in the recognition and management of eosinophilic esophagitis.

The incidence and recognition of eosinophilic esophagitis is increasing. Pathophysiological understanding of eosinophilic esophagitis is improving and an immunological reaction to ingested food is likely to play a significant role. Patients present with dysphagia and food bolus obstruction. Both histological and endoscopic criteria have been developed and validated. Dietary therapy, topical steroid therapy, proton pump inhibitors and endoscopic dilation are the main approaches to therapy; however, novel targeted therapies are being developed. Among the food items commonly implicated are wheat, dairy, nuts, soy, shellfish and eggs. A multidisciplinary approach to management in dedicated clinics may yield the best results.

Serrated adenoma prevalence in inflammatory bowel disease surveillance colonoscopy, and characteristics revealed by chromoendoscopy and virtual chromoendoscopy.

BACKGROUND: Sessile or nonpolypoid neoplastic lesions, including sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs), are difficult to detect in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence and endoscopic features of SSA in IBD patients undergoing surveillance colonoscopy using novel endoscopic techniques. METHODS: Histology results of biopsies from a cohort of 87 patients (47 men; median age 51.4 years; median duration of disease 16.9 years; ulcerative colitis [n=40], Crohn disease [n=43], ischemic colitis [n=4]) with longstanding colonic IBD undergoing surveillance colonoscopy were reviewed. Lesions of dysplasia (adenoma-like mass, or dysplasia-associated lesion or mass), SSAs, adenoma-like polyps, hyperplastic polyps and inflammatory polyps were identified. Surveillance colonoscopy using high-definition alone, or with iScan (Pentax, USA) dye-sprayed or virtual chromoendoscopy was performed. Lesion characteristics were described before histological diagnosis. RESULTS: Fourteen SSAs were detected in 87 (11%) IBD patients. The endoscopic characteristics of SSA lesions were: nonpolypoid appearance (86%), predominant localization in the proximal colon (79%), >6 mm in size (79%), cloudy cover (64%), Kudo pit pattern modified type IIO (86%) and irregular spiral vascular pattern (79%). Among the 44 SSAs and hyperplastic polyps found in the present study, the above characteristics of SSA at colonoscopy had a sensitivity of 92.86% (95% CI 66.06% to 98.8%) and specificity of 93.33% (95% CI 77.89% to 98.99%) in predicting a histological diagnosis of SSA (positive predictive value 86.67%, negative predictive value 96.55%). CONCLUSION: SSAs are a common finding at surveillance colonoscopy in IBD and have several characteristic features. Further studies are needed to evaluate the natural history of these lesions in IBD patients.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection in the colorectum: Feasibility in the Canadian setting.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection is a minimally invasive endoscopic technique for the removal of gastrointestinal tumours that is increasingly being used for colonic neoplasms to spare resection of colon in selected patients. Colonic endoscopic submucosal dissection is technically challenging and was initially pioneered in Japan but increasingly used in selected western centres. Its use in Canada is currently limited, and the authors review the challenges and opportunities, in addition to the unique training infrastructure required to practice the procedure under supervision. Specific tools are required to perform endoscopic submucosal dissection and meticulous attention to detail is essential. The authors provide a combined Japanese and Canadian perspective to this technique, and discuss training and performance of endoscopic submucosal dissection as well as potential indications.