Amyloidosis and Crohn´s disease.

Secondary amyloidosis is a rare but serious complication of inflammatory bowel disease that may influence the prognosis even more than the underlying disease. Due to a better knowledge of the association of secondary amyloidosis to inflammatory bowel disease, early diagnosis of this complication is becoming more frequent, but its treatment continues to pose a challenge. We report 4 cases of patients with Crohn´s disease and amyloidosis diagnosed in the inflammatory bowel disease Units of Toledo and Ciudad Real, which represent 0.68% of the patients with Crohn´s disease of our health areas. There have been not cases of amyloidosis in patients with ulcerative colitis. In our 4 patients the secondary amyloidosis was clearly related to Crohn´s disease,which was often of fistulising type. The predominant clinical picture of amyloidosis was nephrotic syndrome. The patients responded to medical and surgical treatment of Crohn´s disease and colchicine, which improved renal function in all cases except in one who required kidney transplantation.

Amiloidosis y enfermedad de Crohn / Amyloidosis and Crohn's disease

La amiloidosis sistémica adquirida es una complicación rara pero grave de la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal crónica, pudiendo condicionar el pronóstico más que la propia enfermedad de base. Debido al mejor conocimiento de la asociación de amiloidosis secundaria a enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal, el diagnóstico temprano se hace cada vez con mayor frecuencia, pero su tratamiento continúa siendo un reto. Describimos 4 casos clínicos de pacientes con enfermedad de Crohn (EC) y amiloidosis diagnosticados en las Unidades de EIIC de Toledo y Ciudad Real, lo que representa el 0,68% de los caso de EC de nuestras áreas sanitarias. No se ha descrito ningún caso de amiloidosis en pacientes con colitis ulcerosa. En los 4 pacientes la AA estaba claramente relacionada con la EC, y predominaron las formas estenosantes-perforantes. El cuadro clínico de presentación de la amiloidosis en la mayoría de los casos fue un síndrome nefrótico. Los pacientes respondieron al tratamiento médico-quirúrgico de la EC y a la colchicina, con lo que mejoró la función renal en todos los casos salvo en uno que precisó trasplante renal(AU)

Secondary amyloidosis is a rare but serious complication of inflammatory bowel disease that may influence the prognosis even more than the underlying disease. Due to a better knowledge of the association of secondary amyloidosis to inflammatory bowel disease, early diagnosis of this complication is becoming more frequent, but it s treatment continues to pose a challenge. We report 4 cases of patients with Crohn’s disease and amyloidosis diagnosed in the inflammatory bowel disease Units of Toledo and Ciudad Real, which represent 0.68% of the patients with Crohn’s disease of our health areas. There have been not cases of amyloidosis in patients with ulcerative colitis. In our 4 patients the secondary amyloidosis was clearly related to Crohn’s disease, which was often of fistulising type. The predominant clinical picture of amyloidosis was nephrotic syndrome. The patients responded to medical and surgical treatment of Crohn’s disease and colchicine, which improved renal function in all cases except in one who required kidney transplantation(AU)

[Metastatic Crohn's disease]. / Enfermedad de Crohn metastásica.

Metastatic Crohn's disease is a granulomatous cutaneous lesion that appears in patients with Crohn's disease and is located in any skin area, separated from the lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. This entity is characterized by its heterogeneous behavior, both in its localization and clinical expression and in its effect on patients' quality of life. Histology is essential for diagnosis and shows non-caseating granulomas. There are no treatment guidelines and various therapeutic strategies have been employed, with variable response. In most patients, treatment with biological agents is highly effective. We describe three cases of metastatic Crohn's disease with the aim of analyzing the characteristics of this entity, which should always be included in the differential diagnosis of skin lesions in patients with Crohn's disease. A literature review is also provided.

Diagnóstico serológico de gastritis atrófica con una combinación de pepsinógeno I y II, gastrina-17 y anticuerpos anti-Helicobacter pylori / Serological diagnosis of atrophic gastritis with a combination of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17 and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies

Objetivo: El diagnóstico no invasivo de gastritis atrófica ayudaría a identificar individuos con un riesgo elevado de carcinoma gástrico. En este estudio se ha evaluado la utilidad de un panel serológico que combina pepsinógeno I y II, gastrina-17 y anticuerpos anti-Helicobacter pylori (Gastropanel) como método de cribado de la gastritis atrófica. Pacientes y métodos: El panel serológico se evaluó en 56 pacientes de dos grupos: a) 47 pacientes con dispepsia no investigada, y b) 9 pacientes consecutivos con carcinoma gástrico. En todos ellos se realizó una endoscopia con toma de biopsias del antro y el cuerpo gástricos. Los valores de pepsinógeno I y II, gastrina-17 y anticuerpos anti-H. pylori se determinaron mediante test EIA específicos (Biohit plc, Helsinki, Finlandia) en muestras de suero de los pacientes obtenidas en ayunas. Resultados: La gastritis atrófica fue significativamente más frecuente en los pacientes con carcinoma gástrico que en los pacientes dispépticos (el 56 frente al 6%; p = 0,0015). El grado de concordancia entre el panel serológico y la histología gástrica fue bueno (kappa = 0,68). La sensibilidad y la especificidad del panel serológico para diagnosticar la gastritis atrófica fueron del 87,5 y el 100%, respectivamente. Sin embargo, el panel serológico no habría detectado 4 de los 9 casos de carcinoma gástrico, ya que se originaron en un estómago con mucosa no atrófica. Conclusiones: El panel serológico es un método no invasivo útil para el diagnóstico de gastritis atrófica. Sin embargo, su utilidad como método de cribado está limitada por la existencia de casos de carcinoma gástrico que aparecen en estómagos sin atrofia mucosa

Objective: Noninvasive diagnosis of atrophic gastritis would help to identify individuals at increased risk of gastric carcinoma. In the present study, we evaluated the utility of a serological panel combining pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies (Gastropanel) as a screening method for atrophic gastritis. Patients and methods: The serological panel was evaluated in 56 patients divided in two groups: group 1 consisted of 47 patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia and group 2 was composed of nine consecutive patients with gastric carcinoma. In all patients, we performed endoscopy with biopsies of the gastric antrum and body. Levels of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-H. pylori antibodies were determined through a specific EIA test (Biohit plc, Helsinki, Finland) in fasting serum samples. Results: Atrophic gastritis was significantly more frequent in patients with gastric carcinoma than in those with dyspepsia (56 vs 6%; p = 0.0015). Agreement between the Gastropanel and gastric histology was good (kappa = 0.68). The sensitivity and specificity of the Gastropanel in the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis was 87.5% and 100%, respectively. However, the Gastropanel would not have detected four of the nine cases of gastric carcinoma, since these tumors arose in stomachs with nonatrophic mucosa. Conclusions: Gastropanel is a useful noninvasive method for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. However, its utility as a screening method is limited by cases of gastric carcinoma that arise in stomachs without atrophic mucosa

[Serological diagnosis of atrophic gastritis with a combination of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17 and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies]. / Diagnóstico serológico de gastritis atrófica con una combinación de pepsinógeno I y II, gastrina-17 y anticuerpos anti-Helicobacter pylori.

OBJECTIVE: Noninvasive diagnosis of atrophic gastritis would help to identify individuals at increased risk of gastric carcinoma. In the present study, we evaluated the utility of a serological panel combining pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies (Gastropanel) as a screening method for atrophic gastritis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The serological panel was evaluated in 56 patients divided in two groups: group 1 consisted of 47 patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia and group 2 was composed of nine consecutive patients with gastric carcinoma. In all patients, we performed endoscopy with biopsies of the gastric antrum and body. Levels of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-H. pylori antibodies were determined through a specific EIA test (Biohit plc, Helsinki, Finland) in fasting serum samples. RESULTS: Atrophic gastritis was significantly more frequent in patients with gastric carcinoma than in those with dyspepsia (56 vs 6%; p = 0.0015). Agreement between the Gastropanel and gastric histology was good (kappa = 0.68). The sensitivity and specificity of the Gastropanel in the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis was 87.5% and 100%, respectively. However, the Gastropanel would not have detected four of the nine cases of gastric carcinoma, since these tumors arose in stomachs with nonatrophic mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: Gastropanel is a useful noninvasive method for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. However, its utility as a screening method is limited by cases of gastric carcinoma that arise in stomachs without atrophic mucosa.

[Clinicopathological characteristics of uninvestigated dyspepsia in Spain]. / Características clinicopatológicas de la dispepsia no investigada en España.

INTRODUCTION: Most patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia are diagnosed with functional dyspepsia. Various types of Helicobacter pylori gastritis have been described, each of which is associated with a distinct natural history of the infection (i.e. a different risk of ulcer or gastric cancer). OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia in our area and the prevalence of the distinct types of H. pylori gastritis among patients with functional dyspepsia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety-eight patients (47 men and 51 women, mean age 35.8+/-13 years) with uninvestigated dyspepsia were included in this study. All the patients completed the Dyspepsia-Related Health Scale and all patients underwent gastroscopy with biopsy and the C13-urea breath test. RESULTS: Fourteen patients had organic causes of dyspepsia and 78 had functional dyspepsia. Fifty-one patients with functional dyspepsia (65%) had H. pylori infection; of these, 27 had pangastritis, 21 had antrum-predominant gastritis, 2 had multifocal atrophic gastritis and 1 had normal gastric mucosa. Among uninfected patients, 2 had multifocal atrophic gastritis. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of functional dyspepsia in this series was 85%. Twenty-seven percent of patients with functional dyspepsia had a combination of H. pylori infection and antrum-predominant gastritis, the type of gastritis predisposing to duodenal ulcer. Only 5% of the patients had multifocal atrophic gastritis, which is associated with a high risk of gastric cancer.

Características clinicopatológicas de la dispepsia no investigada en España / Clinicopathological characteristics of uninvestigated dyspepsia in Spain

Introducción: La mayoría de los pacientes con dispepsia no investigada son diagnosticados de dispepsia funcional. Se han descrito varios tipos de gastritis por Helicobacter pylori, cada uno de los cuales se asocia a una historia natural diferente de la infección (p. ej., diferente riesgo de enfermedad ulcerosa o de cáncer gástrico). Objetivo: Determinar las características clínicas y patológicas de los pacientes con dispepsia no investigada en nuestra área y la prevalencia de los diferentes tipos de gastritis por H. pylori en los pacientes con dispepsia funcional. Material y métodos: Se incluyó en el estudio a 98 pacientes (47 varones y 51 mujeres, con una media de edad de 35,8 ± 13 años) con dispepsia no investigada. Todos ellos rellenaron el Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida Asociada a Dispepsia, y a todos se les realizó gastroscopia con toma de biopsias y test del aliento con C13-Urea. Resultados: Catorce pacientes tenían causas orgánicas de dispepsia y 78 dispepsia funcional; 51 pacientes con dispepsia funcional (65%) tenían infección por H. pylori y, de ellos, 27 tenía pangastritis, 21 gastritis de predominio antral, 2 gastritis atrófica multifocal y 1 mucosa gástrica normal. Entre los pacientes no infectados, 2 presentaban gastritis atrófica multifocal. Conclusiones: La prevalencia de dispepsia funcional en esta serie fue del 85%. Un 27% de los pacientes con dispepsia funcional presenta la combinación de infección por H. pylori y gastritis de predominio antral, que es el tipo de gastritis que predispone a la aparición de enfermedad ulcerosa duodenal. Sólo un 5% de los pacientes tiene gastritis atrófica multifocal, que es la que se asocia con un riesgo elevado de cáncer gástrico

Introduction: Most patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia are diagnosed with functional dyspepsia. Various types of Helicobacter pylori gastritis have been described, each of which is associated with a distinct natural history of the infection (i.e. a different risk of ulcer or gastric cancer). Objective: To determine the clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia in our area and the prevalence of the distinct types of H. pylori gastritis among patients with functional dyspepsia. Material and methods: Ninety-eigth patients (47 men and 51 women, mean age 35.8 ± 13 years) with uninvestigated dyspepsia were included in this study. All the patients completed the Dyspepsia-Related Health Scale and all patients underwent gastroscopy with biopsy and the C13-urea breath test. Results: Fourteen patients had organic causes of dyspepsia and 78 had functional dyspepsia. Fifty-one patients with functional dyspepsia (65%) had H. pylori infection; of these, 27 had pangastritis, 21 had antrum-predominant gastritis, 2 had multifocal atrophic gastritis and 1 had normal gastric mucosa. Among uninfected patients, 2 had multifocal atrophic gastritis. Conclusions: The prevalence of functional dyspepsia in this series was 85%. Twenty-seven percent of patients with functional dyspepsia had a combination of H. pylori infection and antrum-predominant gastritis, the type of gastritis predisposing to duodenal ulcer. Only 5% of the patients had multifocal atrophic gastritis, which is associated with a high risk of gastric cancer