Four-sample lactose hydrogen breath test for diagnosis of lactose malabsorption in irritable bowel syndrome patients with diarrhea

AIM: To validate 4-sample lactose hydrogen breath testing(4SLHBT) compared to standard 13-sample LHBT in the clinical setting.METHODS: Irritable bowel syndrome patients with diarrhea(IBS-D) and healthy volunteers(HVs) were enrolled and received a 10 g, 20 g, or 40 g doselactose hydrogen breath test(LHBT) in a randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial. The lactase gene promoter region was sequenced. Breath samples and symptoms were acquired at baseline and every 15 min for 3 h(13 measurements). The detection rates of lactose malabsorption(LM) and lactose intolerance(LI) for a 4SLHBT that acquired four measurements at 0, 90, 120, and 180 min from the same data set were compared with the results of standard LHBT.RESULTS: Sixty IBS-D patients and 60 HVs were studied. The genotype in all participants was C/C-13910. LM and LI detection rates increased with lactose dose from 10 g, 20 g to 40 g in both groups(P < 0.001). 4SLHBT showed excellent diagnostic concordance with standard LHBT(97%-100%, Kappa 0.815-0.942) with high sensitivity(90%-100%) and specificity(100%) at all three lactose doses in both groups.CONCLUSION: Reducing the number of measurements from 13 to 4 samples did not significantly impact on the accuracy of LHBT in health and IBS-D. 4SLHBT is a valid test for assessment of LM and LI in clinical practice.

Combination of corticosteroids and 5-aminosalicylates or corticosteroids alone for patients with moderate-severe active ulcerative colitis:A global survey of physicians'practice

AIM To examine treatment decisions of gastroenterologists regarding the choice of prescribing 5-aminosalycilates(5ASA) with corticosteroids(CS) versus corticosteroids alone for patients with active ulcerative colitis(UC). METHODS A cross-sectional questionnaire exploring physicians' attitude toward 5ASA + CS combination therapy vs CS alone was developed and validated. The questionnaire was distributed to gastroenterology experts in twelve countries in five continents. Respondents' agreement with stated treatment choices were assessed by standardized Likert scale. Background professional characteristics of respondents were analyzed for correlation with responses. RESULTS Six hundred and sixty-four questionnaires were distributed and 349 received(52.6% response rate). Of 340 eligible respondents, 221(65%) would continue 5ASA in a patient hospitalized for intravenous CS treatment due to a moderate-severe UC flare, while 108(32%) would stop the 5ASA(P < 0.001), and 11(3%) are undecided. Similarly, 62% would continue 5ASA in an out-patient starting oral CS. However, only 140/340(41%) would proactively start 5ASA in a hospitalized patient not receiving 5ASA before admission. Most(94%) physicians consider the safety profile of 5ASA as very good. Only 52% consider them inexpensive, 35% perceive them to be expensive and 12% are undecided. On multi-variable analysis, less years of practice and perception of a plausible additive mechanistic effect of 5ASA + CS were positively associated with the decision to continue 5ASA with CS. CONCLUSION Despite the absence of data supporting its benefit, most gastroenterologists endorse combination of 5ASA + CS for patients with active moderate-to-severe UC. Randomized controlled trials are needed to assess if 5ASA confer any benefit for these patients.

Magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers of gastrointestinal motor function and fluid distribution

Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) is a well established technique that has revolutionized diagnostic radiology. Until recently, the impact that MRI has had in the assessment of gastrointestinal motor function and bowel fluid distribution in health and in disease has been more limited, despite the novel insights that MRI can provide along the entire gastrointestinal tract. MRI biomarkers include intestinal motility indices, small bowel water content and whole gut transit time. The present review discusses new developments and applications of MRI in the upper gastrointestinal tract, the small bowel and the colon reported in the literature in the last 5 years.

Resection margin influences the outcome of patients with bilobar colorectal liver metastases

AIM To evaluate the outcome of patients with bilobar colorectal liver metastases(CRLM) and identify clinicopathological variables that influenced survival.METHODS Patients with bilobar CRLM were identified from a prospectively maintained hepatobiliary database during the study period(January 2010-June 2014). Collated data included demographics, primary tumour treatment, surgical data, histopathology analysis and clinical outcome. Down-staging therapy included Oxaliplatinor Irinotecan- based regimens, and Cetuximab was also used in patients that were K-RAS wild-type. Response to neo-adjuvant therapy was assessed at the multidisciplinary team meeting and considered for surgery if all macroscopic CRLM were resectable with a clear margin while preserving sufficient liver parenchyma.RESULTS Of the 136 patients included, thirty-two(23.5%) patients were considered inoperable and referred for palliative chemotherapy, and thirty-four(25%) patients underwent liver resection. Seventy(51.4%) patients underwent down-staging therapy, of which 37(52.8%) patients responded sufficiently to undergo liver resection. Patients that failed to respond to down-staging therapy(n = 33, 47.1%) were referred for palliative therapy. There was a significant difference in overall survival between the three groups(surgery vs down-staging therapy vs inoperable disease, P < 0.001). All patients that underwent hepatic resection, including patients that had down-staging therapy, had a significantly better overall survival compared to patients that were inoperable(P < 0.001). On univariate analysis, only resection margin significantly influenced disease-free survival(P = 0.017). On multi-variate analysis, R0 resection(P = 0.030) and female(P = 0.036) gender significantly influenced overall survival. CONCLUSION Patients undergoing liver resection with bilobar CRLM have a significantly better survival outcome. R0 resection is associated with improved disease-free and overall survival in this patient group.

Retrospective cohort study of statin therapy effect on resected colorectal liver metastases

BACKGROUND Above and beyond their role in cardiovascular risk reduction,statins appear to have a chemopreventive role in some gastro-intestinal cancers.In the quest for new chemopreventive agents,some existing established drugs such as statins have shown potential for re-purposing as chemoprevention.Probing existing drugs,whose pharmacodynamics are familiar,for novel beneficial effects offers a more cost-effective and less time-consuming strategy than establishing brand new drugs whose pharmacodynamic profile is unfamiliar.Observational studies show statins decrease the risk of developing colorectal cancer but there are no published studies exploring the potential impact of statins on carcinogenesis in colorectal liver metastases(CRLM).AIM To evaluate impact of statins on outcomes of CRLM resection,and secondarily to assess if statins influence CRLM histo-pathology.METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients operated for CRLM over a 13-year period from 2005 to 2017.Patients were identified from a prospective database maintained in our Tertiary care hospital.All 586 patients included the study had undergone resection of CRLM following discussion at multidisclipinary team meeting,some patients requiring neoadjuvant chemotherapy to downstage CRLM prior to surgery.We analysed patient demographics,operative details,CRLM histopathology,Index of Deprivation,neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio,platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and chemotherapy use in relation to clinical outcome.Statistics were performed using SPSS version 16.0;significance taken at 5%.RESULTS Liver resection for CRLM was undertaken in 586 patients at a median age of 68(range 19 to 88)years.Statin therapy was used by 181 patients.Median follow-up time was 23(range 12-96)mo and further colorectal cancer metastases developed in 267 patients.A total of 131 patients died.Multi-variate analysis identified 6 independent predictors of poorer disease-free survival:Synchronous presentation,multiple tumours,tumour size≥5 cm,moderate-severe steatosis,peri-neural invasion,and R1-resection margin.Poorer overall survival was significantly associated with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy,major hepatectomy,peri-neural invasion and R1-resection margin.Neither histo-pathological nor radiological traits of CRLM were affected by statins,and,there was no demonstrable effect of statin therapy on patient outcomes.CONCLUSION Statin therapy does not affect patient survival following liver resection for CRLM.We postulate the reason for this key finding is that statins do not modulate tumour biology of CRLM.