Determinant factors for first-line treatment choice and effectiveness in pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis: an analysis of the EUREOS EoE CONNECT registry.

This study compared short-term effectiveness of proton pump inhibitors (PPI), swallowed topical corticosteroids (STC), and dietary therapies in reversing clinical and histological features in pediatric patients with eosinophilic esophagitits (EoE). Determinants for treatment choice and PPI therapy effectiveness were also assessed.  A cross-sectional study analysis of patients under 18 years old recruited onto the multicenter EoE CONNECT registry was performed. Clinico-histological response was defined as symptomatic improvement plus a peak eosinophil count below 15 per high-power field after treatment. Effectiveness of first-line options used in monotherapy was compared. Overall, 393 patients (64% adolescents) receiving PPI, STC, or dietary monotherapy to induce EoE remission were identified. PPI was the preferred option (71.5%), despite STC providing the highest clinico-histological response rates (66%) compared to PPI (44%) and diet (42%). Logistic regression identified fibrotic features and recruitment at Italian sites independently associated to first-line STC treatment; age under 12 associated to dietary therapy over other options. Analysis of 262 patients in whom PPI effectiveness was evaluated after median (IQR) 96 (70-145) days showed that this effectiveness was significantly associated with management at pediatric facilities and use of high PPI doses. Among PPI responders, decrease in rings and structures in endoscopy from baseline was documented, with EREFS fibrotic subscore for rings also decreasing among responders (0.27 ± 0.63 vs. 0.05 ± 0.22, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Initial therapy choice for EoE depends on endoscopic phenotype, patient's age, and patients' origin. High PPI doses and treatment in pediatric facilities significantly determined effectiveness, and reversed fibrotic endoscopic features among responders. What is Known: • Proton pump inhibitors are widely used to induce and maintain remission in EoE in real practice, despite other first-line alternative therapies possibly providing higher effectiveness. What is New: • Proton pump inhibitors represent up to two-thirds of first-line monotherapies used to induce EoE remission in pediatric and adolescent patients with EoE. The choice of STC as first-line treatment for EoE was significantly associated with fibrotic features at baseline endoscopy and recruitment in Italian centers; age less than 12 years was associated with dietary therapy. • PPI effectiveness was found to be determined by use of high doses, attendance at pediatric facilities, presenting inflammatory instead of fibrotic or mixed phenotypes, and younger age. Among responders, PPI therapy reversed both inflammatory and fibrotic features of EoE after short-term treatment.

Bismuth quadruple three-in-one single capsule three times a day increases effectiveness compared with the usual four times a day schedule: results from the European Registry on Helicobacter pylori Management (Hp-EuReg).

BACKGROUND: The recommended schedule for single capsule bismuth quadruple therapy (scBQT, Pylera) includes a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) two times a day and three scBQT capsules four times a day. Four times a day treatments are inconvenient and reduce adherence. In contrast, adherence improves with three times a day schedules. In clinical practice, many gastroenterologists use four capsule scBQT three times a day. However, the effectiveness and safety of this latter approach remain uncertain. AIM: To assess the effectiveness and safety of scBQT administered three times a day in the patients included in the European Registry on Helicobacter pylori Management (Hp-EuReg). METHODS: All Spanish adult patients registered in the Asociación Española de Gastroenterología Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database from June 2013 to March 2021 receiving 10-day scBQT were analysed. Modified intention-to-treat effectiveness, adherence and the safety of scBQT given three times a day were calculated and compared with the four times a day schedule. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine independent factors predicting cure of the infection. RESULTS: Of the 3712 cases, 2516 (68%) were four times a day and 1196 (32%) three times a day. Mean age was 51 years, 63% were women and 15% had a peptic ulcer. The three times a day schedule showed significantly better overall cure rates than four times a day (1047/1112, 94%; 95% CI 92.7 to 95.6 vs 2207/2423, 91%; 95% CI 89.9 to 92.2, respectively, p=0.002). Adherence and safety data were similar for both regimens. In the multivariate analysis, three times a day dosage, first-line therapy, use of standard or high-dose PPIs and adherence over 90% were significantly associated with cure of the infection. CONCLUSIONS: ScBQT prescribed three times a day was more effective than the traditional four times a day schedule. No differences were observed in treatment adherence or safety.

[10-day triple therapy with esomeprazole 40 mg/12 h vs. quadruple concomitant non-bismuth therapy as first line treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection]. / Triple terapia 10 días con esomeprazol 40 mg/12 h vs. cuádruple concomitante sin bismuto como tratamiento de primera línea de la infección por Helicobacter pylori.

INTRODUCTION: Quadruple concomitant non-bismuth therapy has recently become the most widely prescribed first-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection in Spain. Whether optimized conventional triple therapy can achieve comparable efficacy rates remains to be seen. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study comparing the efficacy of triple and quadruple concomitant therapy, and sub-analysis following administration of both for 10 days with esomeprazole 40mg/12h. RESULTS: A first-line therapy was administered to 657 patients from 1st January 2012 to 31st December 2014. Quadruple therapy (n=371) showed higher efficacy than triple therapy (n=248) for both intention-to-treat (85.9% vs. 65.7%; P<.001) and per protocol analysis (92.5% vs. 68.4%; P<.001). When both therapies included esomeprazole 40mg/12h administered for 10 days, quadruple concomitant therapy (n=108) also had higher efficacy than triple therapy (n=76) for intention-to-treat (90.7% vs. 73.6%; P=.003) and per protocol analysis (92.5% vs.74.6%; P=.002). CONCLUSIONS: Quadruple concomitant therapy with high dose proton pump inhibitor (PPI) for 10 days achieves a significantly higher eradication outcome than optimized triple therapy, with rates of over 90% when the PPI prescribed is esomeprazole 40mg/12h.

[Prevalence of altered mismatch repair protein nuclear expression detected by immunohistochemistry on adenomas with high-grade dysplasia and features associated with this risk in a population-based study]. / Prevalencia de alteración de expresión nuclear de proteínas reparadoras con inmunohistoquímica sobre adenomas con displasia de alto grado y características asociadas a dicho riesgo en un estudio de base poblacional.

INTRODUCTION: Alteration of mismatch repair system protein expression detected by immunohistochemistry (IHQ) in tumoural tissue is a useful technique for Lynch Syndrome (LS) screening. A recent review proposes LS screening through immunohistochemical study not only in all diagnosed cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) but also in advanced adenomas, especially in young patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of altered IHQ carried out in all adenomas with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) diagnosed in our community in 2011, as well as the variables associated with this alteration. METHODS: We included all the cases of adenomatous polyps with HGD diagnosed in the three public pathology laboratories of Navarre during 2011 and performed a statistical study to assess the association between different patient and lesion characteristics and altered IHQ results. RESULTS: A total of 213 colonic adenomas with HGD were diagnosed, and 26 (12.2%) cases were excluded from the final analysis (2 known LS, 22 without IHQ study and 2 with inconclusive IHQ studies). The final number of adenomas included was 187. Pathologic results were found in 10 cases (5.35%)-6 cases in MLH1 and PMS2, 2 cases in PMS2, 1 case in MSH6 and 1 case in MSH2 and MSH6. The factors showing a statistically significant association with the presence of abnormal proteins were the synchronous presence of CRC, the presence of only one advanced adenoma, proximal location of HGD and age <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of pathologic nuclear expression found in IHQ is high. Consequently, screening of all diagnosed HGD could be indicated, especially in young patients, with a single AA and proximal HGD.

Swallowed topical corticosteroids for eosinophilic esophagitis: Utilization and real-world efficacy from the EoE CONNECT registry.

BACKGROUND: Swallowed topical corticosteroids (tC) are common therapy for patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Widely heterogeneous results have occurred due to their active ingredients, formulations and doses. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of topical corticosteroid therapy for EoE in real-world practice. METHODS: Cross-sectional study analysis of the multicentre EoE CONNECT registry. Clinical remission was defined as a decrease of ≥50% in dysphagia symptom scores; histological remission was defined as a peak eosinophil count below 15 per high-power field. The effectiveness in achieving clinico-histological remission (CHR) was compared for the main tC formulations. RESULTS: Overall, data on 1456 prescriptions of tC in monotherapy used in 866 individual patients were assessed. Of those, 904 prescriptions with data on formulation were employed for the induction of remission; 234 reduced a previously effective dose for maintenance. Fluticasone propionate formulations dominated the first-line treatment, while budesonide was more common in later therapies. A swallowed nasal drop suspension was the most common formulation of fluticasone propionate. Doses ≥0.8 mg/day provided a 65% CHR rate and were superior to lower doses. Oral viscous solution prepared by a pharmacist was the most common prescription of budesonide; 4 mg/day provided no benefit over 2 mg/day (CHR rated being 72% and 80%, respectively). A multivariate analysis revealed budesonide orodispersible tablets as the most effective therapy (OR 18.9, p < 0.001); use of higher doses (OR 4.3, p = 0.03) and lower symptom scores (OR 0.9, p = 0.01) were also determinants of effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Reduced symptom severity, use of high doses, and use of budesonide orodispersible tablets particularly were all independent predictors of tC effectiveness.

[Cuadruple concomitant non-bismuth therapy vs. classical triple therapy as first line therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection]. / Comparación de cuádruple terapia concomitante sin bismuto con triple terapia clásica como primera línea de tratamiento para la erradicación del Helicobacter pylori.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In a previous study we found that the classical triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) had low efficacy (under 70%) in our area. After this finding, in mid 2012 quadruple concomitant therapy started to be prescribed in our hospital. The aim of the present study is to compare the efficacy of classical triple therapy and quadruple concomitant therapy without bismuth. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational retrospective study of prescribed treatments between 1st January 2012 and 5th May 2014 and their efficacy. RESULTS: During the study period 510 patients were prescribed a first line therapy; in 179 cases (35,1%) the combination amoxiciline+clarithromicine+PPI was prescribed during 7-14 days, and 298 patients (58,4%) were treated with amoxicillin+clarithromycin+metronidazole+PPI for 10 days. The quadruple concomitant therapy had a higher efficacy than the classical triple therapy, both in an "intention to treat" (84.8% vs. 65.7%, P=.001) and "per protocol" (86.9% vs. 67.2%, P=.001) analysis. Triple therapy had a higher efficacy when it was prescribed for 10 days compared to 7 days (77.9% vs. 56.5%, P=.005 per "intention to treat" and 77.9% vs. 58.5%, P=.011 "per protocol"). When quadruple concomitant therapy was compared with classical triple therapy prescribed over 10 days no significant differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: In our setting, cuadruple concomitant therapy without bismuth has a high efficacy as first line therapy for H. pylori eradication, with much better results than classical triple therapy in the way that it is most widely prescribed (short courses of 7-day with a single dose of omeprazole).

Endoscopic and anesthetic feasibility of EUS and ERCP combined in a single session versus two different sessions.

AIM: To discuss the feasibility of single session endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) to discuss and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) execution. METHODS: Retrospective endoscopic and anesthetic outcome comparison of performing both EUS and ERCP in a single endoscopic session (Group I) versus performing each procedure in two different sessions (Group II) was made. The following variables were evaluated: epidemiological variables, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification (ASA) level, procedural time, propofol dose, anesthetic complications, endoscopic complications and diagnostic yield, and therapeutic procedures on both groups. T-student, Chi-Square and Fisher test were used for comparison. RESULTS: We included 39 patients in Group I (mean age: 69.85 ± 9.25; 27 men) and 46 in Group II (mean age: 67.46 ± 12.57; 25 men). Procedural time did not differ significantly between both groups (Group Ivs Group II: 93 ± 32.78 vs 98.98 ± 38.17; P >0.05) but the dose of propofol differed (Group I vs Group II: 322.28 ± 250.54 mg vs 516.96 ± 289.06 mg; P = 0.001). Three patients had normal findings on both explorations. Three anesthetic complications [O(2) desaturation (2), broncoaspiration (1)] and 9 endoscopic complications [pancreatitis (6), bleeding (1), perforation (1), cholangitis (1)] occurred without significant differences between both groups (P > 0.05). We did not find any significant difference regarding age, sex, ASA scale level, diagnostic yield or therapeutic maneuvers between both groups. CONCLUSION: The performance of EUS and ERCP in a single session offers a similar diagnostic and therapeutic yield, does not entail a higher complication risk and requires a significantly smaller dose of propofol for sedation compared with performing each exploration in a different session.