ABSTRACT
Inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are characterized by abdominal pain, diarrhea, blood in stools, weight loss, and fatigue. It presents in patients with varying severity from mild to severe depending on the inflammation. Detailed analysis and guidelines are required for the safe usage of biological therapies in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases as surgery is reserved for more complex cases. There is also geographical variation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) incidence and prevalence based on environmental and climate changes, and socio-demographics. Studies also show that there is more hospitalization and reduced health-related quality of life in IBD patients when compared to normal people. We conducted an extensive literature database search for articles with keywords within the last 10 years on adults >18 years of age with IBD and its treatment, especially with ustekinumab. Ustekinumab is a human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) kappa monoclonal antibody, that blocks IL-12 and IL-23 and was approved by the FDA for the treatment of moderate to severe IBD, especially in patients who are intolerant to immunomodulators or corticosteroids treatment. There are several retrospective studies that show the effectiveness of ustekinumab dosage escalation every four weeks in IBD patients. This escalation of dose not only improved the clinical outcome but also reduced the worsening of the disease. Previous studies also show the importance of considering dosage escalation before switching biological agents in the IBD treatment. Ustekinumab has also demonstrated both efficacy and safety in the induction and maintenance of the treatment of this disease. There are certain challenges and opportunities associated with ustekinumab usage in IBD patients that require further research. Ustekinumab seems to be more cost-effective in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-inhibitor failure population when compared to previously used biological treatment regimes.
ABSTRACT
Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a cerebrovascular disorder caused by complete or partial occlusion of the cerebral venous and sinus system. The etiology has been attributed to hypercoagulability and pro-thrombotic states, leading to raised intracranial pressures that often manifest as headaches and focal neurological deficits. However, the multifactorial nature of CVT can create a diagnostic conundrum for clinicians. We describe a unique case of a 16-year-old female who presented with convulsions, postictal confusion, and drowsiness followed by residual weakness of her extremities. She initially presented to the primary care center with headache, high-grade fever, and altered mental status and was empirically treated for pyogenic meningitis. The patient failed to improve with a week of antibiotics and was referred to the tertiary care center for urgent attention. On presentation, the patient developed VI and VII cranial nerve palsy. Subsequently, MRI images showed filling defects in the superior sagittal, right transverse, and sigmoid sinuses with right parietal gyral T1 hyperintensity and T2 hypo-intensity. She was diagnosed with septic CVT based on sinus venous thrombosis and venous infarction, probably secondary to meningococcal pneumonia. It can be challenging to distinguish between both conditions as their presentations overlap. Moreover, cranial nerve palsy is an infrequent manifestation of CVT, with unclear pathogenesis. We highlight the role of neuro-imaging in the early detection of CVT and bring to light the unfamiliar symptoms and a more varied clinical spectrum that may hinder the diagnosis in a limited-resource setting. Future research should be explicitly modeled to improve the diagnostic efficiency of CVT and improve outcomes in younger patient populations.
ABSTRACT
Albuminuria is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular events in diabetic people. The pathogenic processes in these circumstances have been documented to be significantly influenced by enhanced renin-angiotensin system activity. The current meta-analysis was carried out to assess the efficacy of direct renin inhibitors in preventing the progression of diabetic kidney disease. This meta-analysis was conducted as per the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We searched the relevant medical literature through PubMed, Cochrane library and EMBASE. The primary efficacy outcome was a percentage change in urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) (in mg/g) level. Other primary efficacy outcomes included remission from microalbuminuria to normal albuminuria and progression from microalbuminuria to macroalbuminuria. Four randomized control studies were identified and included in the current meta-analysis involving 9,609 participants. The use of direct renin inhibitors was superior in reducing mean UACR compared to angiotensin receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The pooled mean difference in UACR between direct renin inhibitors and the control group was 9.42% (95% CI: -15.70 to -3.15: p-value=0.003). The odds of progression from microalbuminuria to normal albuminuria are 1.26 times higher in patients receiving direct renin inhibitors compared to patients in the control group (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08-1.46, p-value=0.002). The odds of remission from microalbuminuria to macroalbuminuria were 20% lower in patients receiving direct renin inhibitors compared to patients in the control group (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.69-0.93, p-value=0.003). The use of aliskiren is associated with a significant reduction in UACR, increased remission from microalbuminuria to normal albuminuria and decreased progression from microalbuminuria to macroalbuminuria.
ABSTRACT
Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are oral diabetes medications that enhance the excretion of glucose by preventing the renal proximal tubules from reabsorbing glucose, which lowers glucose levels in plasma. Currently, studies have shown that SGLT2 inhibitors have beneficial impacts on cardiovascular outcomes, but their effect varies between the individual SGLT2 inhibitors. Thus, the current meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy of dapagliflozin and empagliflozin in preventing cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. The current meta-analysis was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines. A search of studies comparing cardiovascular events between dapagliflozin and empagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes published up to 1 July 2022 was done by two reviewers independently on PubMed, Embase and Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHIL). The pre-specified primary endpoints were cardiovascular death, stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Overall four studies were included in this meta-analysis. No significant difference was found in the incidence of myocardial infarction (risk ratio (RR)=0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60-1.09), heart failure (RR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.56-1.04), cardiovascular mortality (RR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.18-1.20) and stroke (RR=1.07, 95% CI: 0.84-1.38) between dapagliflozin and empagliflozin. Results have shown that the risk of developing stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death were not significantly different in the two groups.
