Maintenance of remission with infliximab in inflammatory bowel disease: Effi cacy and safety long-term follow-up

AIM: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a long- term therapy with infliximab in Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients retrospectively. METHODS: The medical charts of 50 patients (40 CD and 10 UC), who received after a loading dose of 3 infl iximab infusions scheduled re-treatments every 8 wk as a maintenance protocol, were reviewed. RESULTS: Median (range) duration of treatment was 27 (4-64) mo in CD patients and 24.5 (6-46) mo in UC patients. Overall, 32 (80%) CD and 9 (90%) UC patients showed a sustained clinical response or remission throughout the maintenance period. Three CD patients shortened the interval between infusions. Eight (20%) CD patients and 1 UC patient underwent surgery for flare up of disease. Nine out of 29 CD and 4 out of 9 UC patients, who discontinued infliximab scheduled treatment, are still relapse-free after a median of 16 (5-30) and 6.5 (4-16) mo following the last infusion, respectively. Ten CD patients (25%) and 1 UC patient required concomitant steroid therapy during maintenance period, compared to 30 (75%) and 9 (90%) patients at enrolment. Of the 50 patients, 16 (32%) experienced at least 1 adverse event and 3 patients (6%) were diagnosed with cancer during maintenance treatment. CONCLUSION: Scheduled infl iximab strategy is effective in maintaining long-term clinical remission both in CD and UC and determines a marked steroid sparing effect. Long-lasting remission was observed following infliximab withdrawal.

5-ASA in ulcerative colitis:Improving treatment compliance

5-aminosalicylic acid(5-ASA)compounds are a highly effective treatment for ulcerative colitis(UC).While UC patient compliance in clinical studies is over 90%, only 40%of patients in every day life take their prescribed therapy.Adherence to medication has been emphasized recently by a Cochrane meta-analysis that has suggested that future trials of 5-ASA in UC should look at patient compliance rather than drug efficacy. Better compliance can be obtained by reducing the number of tablets and times of administration.Given that the 5-ASA formulations have different delivery systems that split the active moiety in various regions of the intestine,it is particularly important that an adequate dose of the drug arrives at the inflamed part of the colon.5-ASA Multi matrix(MMx)is a novel,high strength(1.2 g),oral formulation designed for oncedaily dosing.It releases the active moiety throughout the colon.Different studies with this compound have shown that it is as effective as 5-ASA enema in the treatment of mild-to-moderate,left-sided UC,and is comparable to a pH-dependent,delayed release 5-ASA (Asacol ),even if given once daily.Recently,the effectiveness in the acute phase of UC has been confirmed also in maintenance.In conclusion,at present,5-ASA MMx seems theoretically the best agent for maintaining patient compliance,and consequently,treatment effectiveness.

Giant splenic artery aneurysm presenting with massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding:A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND Splenic artery aneurysm(SAA)and pseudoaneurysm are rare vessel’s lesions.Pseudoaneurysm is often symptomatic and secondary to pancreatitis or trauma.True SAA is the most common aneurysm of visceral vessels.In contrast to pseudoaneurysm,SAA is usually asymptomatic until the rupture,with high mortality rate.The clinical onset of SSA’s rupture is a massive life-threatening bleeding with hemodynamic instability,usually into the free peritoneal space and more rarely into the gastrointestinal tract.CASE SUMMARY We describe the case of a 35-year-old male patient,with negative past medical history,who presented to the emergency department for massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding,severe anemia and hypotension.An esophagogastroduodenoscopy performed in emergency showed a gastric bulging in the greater curvature/posterior wall with a small erosion on its surface,with a visible vessel,but no active bleeding.Endoscopic injection therapy with cyanoacrylate glue was performed.Urgent contrast-enhanced computed tomography was carried out due to the clinical scenario and the unclear endoscopic aspect:The radiological examination showed a giant SAA which was adherent to posterior stomach wall,and some smaller aneurysms of the left gastric and ileocolic artery.Because of the high risk of a two-stage rupture of the giant SAA with dramatic outcome,the patient underwent immediate open surgery with aneurysmectomy,splenectomy and distal pancreatectomy with a good postoperative outcome.CONCLUSION The management of a ruptured giant SAA into the stomach can be successful with surgical approach.

Bowel intussusception in adult:Prevalence,diagnostic tools and therapy

Intussusception is defined as invagination of one segment of the bowel into animmediately adjacent segment. The intussusception refers to the proximalsegment that invaginates into the distal segment, or the intussusception (recipientsegment). Intussusception, more common occur in the small bowel and rarelyinvolve only the large bowel. In direct contrast to pediatric etiologies, adultintussusception is associated with an identifiable cause in almost all thesymptomatic cases while the idiopathic causes are extremely rare. As there aremany common causes of acute abdomen, intussusception should be consideredwhen more frequent etiologies have been ruled out. In this review, we discuss thesymptoms, location, etiology, characteristics, diagnostic methods and treatmentstrategies of this rare and enigmatic clinical entity in adult.