Management of anal fistulas in Crohn's disease after failure of Infliximab.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease remains a challenge especially after the failure of Infliximab. AIM: Update on the different therapeutic alternatives for anal fistula in Crohn's disease after failure of Infliximab. METHODS: A research in the medical literature on PubMed and Google Scholar was carried out. We included cohort studies, reviews and randomized double-blinded therapeutic trials. Case reports and fundamental research studies have been excluded. RESULTS: Anti-TNF therapy, notably Infliximab remain the therapeutic option of choice. Since Infliximab efficacy has been estimated at 60%, with a significant loss-of response rate, new therapeutic strategies have been evaluated and may offer new opportunities for the management of anal fistulas: for example, Ustekinumab could be effective after failure of anti-TNF therapy, although further studies are required. Recent guidelines suggest that injection of mesenchymal stem cells is an effective and safe treatment for complex fistulas. Other surgical options have been proposed, such as endorectal advancement flap, fibrin glue injection, anal fistula plug and ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract, but all with limited and debatable efficacy. Given the failure rate of all these options, new strategies are currently being evaluated. CONCLUSION: Anal fistulas in Crohn's disease are a real therapeutic challenge. New medical and surgical therapies are currently being evaluated, with promising results.

Exploring work productivity loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Aim: We aimed in this study to evaluate the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on patients' professional life and to determine predictors of severe work productivity loss (WPL). Materials & methods: A cross sectional study including patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD. Work productivity was evaluated with the work productivity and activity impairment score. Results: Severe absenteeism and WPL were found in respectively 7 (5.1%) and 54 (39.1%) patients. In multivariate analysis, the following features were found to be independently associated with severe WPL: penetrating Crohn's disease (p: 0.001, OR: 6), anemia (p: 0.031, OR: 3.23), diarrhea (p < 0.001, OR: 11.23) and a secondary level of education (p: 0.003, OR: 1.95). Conclusion: Our results show that IBD have a substantial effect on patients' professional life.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic conditions that cause inflammation in the digestive system. We wanted to know how IBD affects people's ability to work and what factors contribute to work difficulties. We asked adults with IBD about their education, work conditions and medical history. We found that a significant number of patients experience severe work productivity loss and absenteeism. Factors such as certain types of IBD, anemia, diarrhea and lower education level were linked to more severe work problems. These findings emphasize the impact of IBD on work life and highlight the importance of addressing these challenges in patient care.

Recurrent primary hepatic VIPoma treated with a combination of surgical resection and loco-regional therapy.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) secreting tumors (VIPomas) are insidious functional neuroendocrine tumors originating mainly from pancreatic islet cells. Hepatic localization is considered exceedingly rare as only few cases have been reported in the literature. Diagnostic and therapeutic management of this tumor is still not clearly codified and therefore represents a real challenge for clinicians. Herein we report a unique case of a primary hepatic VIPoma recurrence in a female patient 22 years after curative resection. The patient had two sessions of transarterial chemoembolization. Complete symptomatic improvement was achieved since the first day after the first session. This case highlights that long-term follow-up for patients with hepatic VIPoma is mandatory as recurrence could occur several years after curative surgical treatment.

VIPomas are rare tumors secreting a hormone that is vasoactive in the intestine causing severe diarrhea. The majority of VIPomas arise within the pancreas. The hepatic localization is extremely rare. We report a case of a very late recurrence of a primary hepatic VIPoma surgically treated 20 years ago. The case was managed with therapeutic radiology by blocking the blood supply to the tumors after administering anticancer drugs in the vessels near them.

Massive hematochezia due to jejunal varices successfully treated with coil embolization.

We report a case of hematochezia with hemodynamic instability due to jejunal varices in a cirrhotic patient with no prior history of surgery. The patient was managed with coil embolization via the portal vein. After which, the patient did not present any hemorrhage recurrence and maintained a stable hemoglobin level.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome and Crohn's disease: an exceptional association.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH) is a rare, multisystem disease of melanocyte-containing organs. It is characterized by diffuse, granulomatous inflammation involving various organs. It has been reported to occur in association with other autoimmune disorders. We report the case of a female patient who was diagnosed with VKH at the age of 4 years and who was treated with corticosteroids until the age of 16. Twenty years later, Crohn's disease was diagnosed, with a severe flare-up. Three cases of VKH associated with ulcerative colitis have previously been reported anecdotally but, to our knowledge, this is the first case occurring in association to Crohn's disease.

Quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease in Tunisian patients.

BACKGROUND: The management of the health-related quality of life (HRQL) is increasingly considered as an important treatment goal in chronic diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). AIM: The aim of our study was to determine the impact of IBD on HRQLand identify the factors involved in the deterioration of HRQL in these patients. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study including 108 patients; 66 had Crohn's disease (CD) and 42 had ulcerative colitis (UC). In the measurement of HRQL, we used a general questionnaire "Short Form 36: SF36" and a specific questionnaire "Tunisian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire: T-IBDQ". RESULTS: HRQL of patients was worse than controls with a statistically significant difference for six of the eight dimensions of the SF 36 "Physical Functionning PF", "Role Physical RP", "General health GH","SocialFunctionning SF "," Mental Health MH "and" Role Emotional RE "as well as the Mental summary score (MCS) and the Physical summary score (PCS ) (p <0.05). The factors involved in the alteration of HRQL were: age <30 years, poor socioeconomic conditions, disease activity, use of corticosteroids, a number of surgeries ≥2 and anterior hospitalization history. CONCLUSION: In this study, IBD cause impaired HRQL affecting almost all areas of the SF 36 questionnaire. Incriminated factors may be related to the patient, disease and even treatment.