Gastrointestinal Basidiobolomycosis: A Case Series.

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis (GIB) is a rare fungal infection caused by Basidiobolus ranarum, a saprophytic fungus that belongs to the class of Basidiobolomycetes. It mainly infects immunocompetent individuals and is mainly found in arid tropical and subtropical regions, including Southwestern America, Saudi Arabia, Africa, and Asia. Not surprisingly, a great number of human infections have been reported from these warm, humid climate regions that are felicitous for the growth of this fungus, especially from the southern region of Saudi Arabia and Arizona in the United States of America. GIB is easily misdiagnosed as malignancy, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, lymphoma, and chronic intestinal infections due to its rarity. In this case series, we summarize the clinical features, imaging, histopathological features, and treatment of patients diagnosed with GIB in our institution.

IBD-Disk as a tool estimating the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease-related disability and associated influencing factors in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) disk is an easy tool to use in clinical practice to measure IBD-related disability, with a score >40 correlating with high daily-life burden. Its use has been limited mainly to the western world. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of IBD-related disability and evaluate the associated risk factors in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross sectional study conducted at a tertiary referral center for IBD, the English IBD disk was translated into Arabic, and patients with IBD were approached to complete it. Total IBD disk score (0 = no disability; 100 = severe disability) was documented and a score of >40 was set as a threshold to estimate the prevalence of disability. Results: Eighty patients with a mean age of 32.5 ± 11.9 years and disease duration of 6 years, including 57% females, were analyzed. The mean IBD-disk total score was 20.70 ± 18.69. The mean subscores for each function within the disk ranged from 0.38 ± 1.69 for sexual functions to 3.61 ± 3.29 for energy. The overall prevalence of IBD-related disability was 19% (15/80 scoring >40) and was much higher in active disease, in males and in IBD of long duration (39%, 24%, and 26%, respectively). A clinically active disease, high CRP, and high calprotectin were strongly associated with higher disk scores. Conclusion: Although the overall mean IBD disk score was low, nearly 19% of our population had high scores signifying a high prevalence of disability. As demonstrated by other studies, active disease and high biomarkers were significantly associated with higher IBD-disk scores.

Basidiobolomycosis Mimicking Fistulizing Crohn's Disease: A Case Report From Saudi Arabia.

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis (GIB) is a rare, emerging fungal infection caused by Basidiobolus ranarum, which requires a high index of clinical suspicion for early diagnosis and management. It is prevalent in hot and humid regions, and its clinical manifestations may mimic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), malignancy, and tuberculosis (TB). This often results in the disease being missed or incorrectly diagnosed. We present the case of a 58-year-old female patient from the southern region of Saudi Arabia who presented with persistent non-bloody diarrhea for four weeks and was found to have GIB. This condition is associated with significant morbidity and mortality if not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. The optimal therapeutic strategy for managing this rare infection has not yet been established. Most patients described in the literature have received a combination of pharmaceutical and surgical therapy. Including GIB in the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders that do not fit the diagnosis may help with its early diagnosis and management.

A Regional Survey of Awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease among the Saudi Population.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is common worldwide, including the gulf region. Early diagnosis of IBD can improve patients' outcomes. However, early diagnosis is dependent on patients' awareness of the disease to seek medical advice. This study aimed to survey the awareness of IBD in the general population of the western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A questionnaire about Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) was distributed to the general public. A score of 1 was given for the right response and 0 for an incorrect response, giving a maximum of 3 and a minimum of 0 for the three questions in the questionnaire. Results: 1,304 participants responded. Twenty nine percentage had not heard or read about CD, while 19% had not heard or read about UC. The mean awareness level score was 1.72 ± 1.19. Females showed a significantly higher score compared to males (p < 0.001). The age-group 31 to 40 had the highest score (p = 0.002). Moreover, responders who had a PhD. showed significantly higher scores than those with other educational degrees (p < 0.001). Responders who dealt with CD or UC patients showed significantly higher scores than their peers (p < 0.001) for both. Conclusion: The general population in Saudi Arabia has an unacceptable level of awareness of IBD. Females, young adults (age-group: 31-40 years), educated individuals (with a PhD), and those who had dealt with IBD patients previously had better awareness compared to the rest of the population. National acts are essential to improve public awareness toward the disease.

Cytomegalovirus Colitis in a Patient With Ulcerative Colitis on Vedolizumab Monotherapy.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a human herpes-type virus with variable clinical manifestations. Infections in immunocompetent patients are usually asymptomatic or mild, and severe infections are generally seen in immunosuppressed individuals. CMV colitis is not uncommon in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and is mostly associated with the use of steroids, immunomodulators like azathioprine, and biologics like infliximab, which have systemic immunosuppressive effects. Vedolizumab is an anti-integrin antibody that is gut-selective without any systemic effects. We report an unusual presentation of a female patient with UC who had concomitant CMV colitis and erythema nodosum, who was on vedolizumab, and not on any steroids or other immunosuppressants. She responded well to anti-viral treatment and steroids.

A cross-sectional survey on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inflammatory bowel disease patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background/Aims: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant disruption to patients with chronic illnesses. We explored the emotional state, perception, and concerns of Saudi patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the crisis. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey from 30 March to 5 April, 2020 using a pre-designed questionnaire distributed through social media platforms to IBD patients. The five-part questionnaire included an assessment of psychological wellbeing using a previously validated Arabic version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), which includes domains for anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D). A logistic regression analysis was used to uncover possible associations between patient characteristics and anxiety and depression. Results: The data from 1156 IBD patients were analyzed. Normal, borderline, and HADS-A scores consistent with a diagnosis of anxiety were reported by 423 (36.6%), 174 (15.1%), and 559 (48.4%) patients, respectively. However, 635 (69%) patients had normal scores and 273 (30.1%) had borderline HADS-D scores; no patients reported scores consistent with depression. Based on a multiple logistic regression analysis, patients educated till a high school diploma (OR = 2.57, 95% CI: 0.09-6.05, P = 0.03) and that had indeterminate colitis (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.27-3.89, P = 0.005) were more likely to express anxiety. Conclusions: Many patients expressed symptoms of anxiety, although not depression. Female patients, patients educated till a high school diploma, and those with indeterminate colitis were more likely to have anxiety. IBD patients require greater attention during a pandemic to avoid adverse disease-related outcomes.

Diagnostic accuracy of EUS compared with MRCP in detecting choledocholithiasis: a meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy in head-to-head studies.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is a wide range of reported sensitivity and specificity for EUS and MRCP in the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, with lack of a proper meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy by using head-to-head comparison. Here, we aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of EUS and MRCP in detecting choledocholithiasis by using appropriate methodology recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration. METHODS: A comprehensive electronic literature search up to January 2017 was done by 2 reviewers for prospective cohort studies comparing EUS and MRCP to a reference standard for detecting choledocholithiasis. The acceptable reference standards were considered ERCP, intraoperative cholangiography, or clinical follow-up >3 months for negative cases. Quality of the included studies was measured by using the QUADAS-2 tool. A bivariate hierarchical model was used to perform the meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy. Summary receiver operating characteristics were developed and the area under the curve was calculated. RESULTS: A total of 5 of 32 studies were included. No study presented a high risk of bias. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.97 (range, 0.91-0.99) and 0.90 (range, 0.83-0.94) for EUS and 0.87 (range, 0.80-0.93) and 0.92 (range, 0.87-0.96) for MRCP. The overall diagnostic odds ratio of EUS was significantly higher than the one with MRCP (162.5 vs 79.0, respectively; P = .008). Further analysis showed that this was mainly due to the significantly higher sensitivity of EUS as compared with that of MRCP (P = .006). The specificity was not significantly different between 2 modalities (P = .42). CONCLUSION: Both EUS and MRCP provide good diagnostic accuracy, with EUS providing statically better diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity, with comparable specificity. EUS should be incorporated in the diagnostic algorithm in patients suspected of choledocholithiasis whenever appropriate.