BACKGROUND & AIMS:The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is increasing in Latin America. We performed a systematic review to identify clinical and epidemiologic features of IBD in Latin America (including Mexico, Central America, and South America) and the Caribbean. METHODS:We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SciELO databases for clinical or epidemiologic studies of Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) from Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories that reported incidence, prevalence, ratio of UC:CD, IBD phenotype, and treatment, through September 12, 2018. Data were extracted from 61 articles for analysis. RESULTS:The incidence and prevalence of IBD have been steadily increasing in Latin America and the Caribbean. The incidence of CD in Brazil increased from 0.08 per 100,000 person-years in 1988 to 0.68 per 100,000 person-years in 1991-1995 to 5.5 per 100,000 person-years in 2015. The highest reported prevalence of IBD was in Argentina, in 2007, at 15 and 82 per 100,000 personyears for CD and UC, respectively. The ratio of UC:CD exceeded 1 in all regions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean with the exception of Brazil. Treatment with tumor necrosis factor antagonists increased steadily for patients with CD (43.4% of all patients in Brazil were treated in 2014) but less so for patients with UC (4.5% of all patients were treated in 2014). Surgery for IBD decreased with time. In Chile, surgeries were performed on 57.0% of patients with CD and 18.0% of patients with UC during the period of 1990-2002; these values decreased to 38.0% and 5.0%, respectively, during the period of 2012-2015. In Peru, 6.9% of patients with UC received colectomies in the period of 2001-2003 and 6.2% in 2004-2014. CONCLUSIONS:In a systematic review, we found the incidence of IBD to be increasing throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Population-based epidemiology studies are needed to evaluate the increase in IBD in these regions, which differ from other global regions in climate, culture, demographics, diet, healthcare delivery and infrastructure, and socioeconomic status.

Summary Background Tofacitinib is an oral, small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. We present final data from OCTAVE Open, an open‐label, long‐term extension study. Aims The primary objective of OCTAVE Open was to assess the safety and tolerability of long‐term tofacitinib in patients with ulcerative colitis; evaluating efficacy was a secondary objective. Methods Eligible patients included OCTAVE Induction 1&2 non‐responders and OCTAVE Sustain completers/treatment failures. Patients in remission at OCTAVE Open baseline received tofacitinib 5 mg b.d.; all others received 10 mg b.d. Incidence rates (unique patients with events/100 patient‐years) for adverse events of special interest were calculated; ≤7.0 years of observation. Efficacy endpoints derived from Mayo score were reported ≤36 months (last scheduled endoscopy visit). Results In OCTAVE Open, 769 of 944 patients (81.5%) initially received tofacitinib 10 mg b.d. Among all patients (2440.8 patient‐years of exposure), incidence rates (IRs; 95% confidence intervals) for deaths and adverse events of special interest were: deaths, 0.25 (0.09‐0.54); serious infections, 1.61 (1.14‐2.20); herpes zoster (non‐serious and serious), 3.16 (2.47‐3.97); opportunistic infections, 0.87 (0.54‐1.33); major adverse cardiovascular events, 0.16 (0.04‐0.42); malignancies (excluding non‐melanoma skin cancer), 1.03 (0.67‐1.52); non‐melanoma skin cancer, 0.75 (0.45‐1.19); deep vein thrombosis, 0.04 (0.00‐0.23); pulmonary embolism, 0.21 (0.07‐0.48). At Month 36, 66.9% and 40.3% showed clinical response, 64.6% and 37.1% had endoscopic improvement, and 58.9% and 33.7% maintained or achieved remission, with tofacitinib 5 and 10 mg b.d. respectively. Conclusion Tofacitinib demonstrated consistent safety up to 7.0  years. Data collected up to Month 36 support long‐term efficacy beyond the 52‐week maintenance study.

ObjectivesPatients with inflammatory bowel disease have a higher risk of thrombosis, which is associated with a higher morbidity and mortality. Most data about VTE are related to hospitalized patients with active disease, but several cases happen in the outpatient setting, and are not covered by current prophylaxis recommendation. As the knowledge of VTE in outpatients is still poor, the aim of this study is to evaluate the risk, clinical data and mortality of thrombosis in patients followed in our center, comparing our findings with the current prophylaxis recommendation.MethodsThe medical electronic chart of 1093 inflammatory bowel disease patients and their image exams were actively searched for words related to thrombosis, followed by charts reviewed to collect information about the event and data regarding clinical settings and thrombosis profile.ResultsOverall, 654 Crohn’s and 439 Colitis patients were included. Thrombosis prevalence was 5.1%,and mortality rate was higher in patients who had suffered thrombosis (10.71% vs. 1.45%, OR 8.0). Half of them developed thrombosis in the outpatient setting, 52% of these had disease activity, 17% had recent hospitalization, and 10% had previous thrombosis. In 27% of cases, diagnosis was done by routine image exams, with no clinical symptoms or previous history of thrombosis. None of them had used thromboprophylaxis. However, a great majority of patients who had thrombosis during hospitalization used heparin prophylaxis.ConclusionInflammatory bowel disease patients who develop thrombosis have an increased mortality risk. A significant proportion of the events happened in patients without a clear thromboprophylaxis recommendation or in those receiving heparin prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND Despite the advent of biological drugs, conventional therapy continues to be used in moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease (MS-IBD). This study hypothesized that as a standard of treatment and the primary alternative to biologics, conventional therapy should present robust effectiveness results in IBD outcomes. AIM To investigate the effectiveness of conventional therapy for MS-IBD. METHODS A systematic review with no time limit was conducted in July 2017 through the Cochrane Collaboration, MEDLINE, and LILACS databases. The inclusion criteria encompassed meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, observational and case-control studies concerning conventional therapy in adult patients with MS-IBD, including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Corticosteroids (prednisone, hydrocortisone, budesonide, prednisolone, dexamethasone), 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) derivatives (mesalazine and sulfasalazine) and immunosuppressants [azathioprine (AZA), methotrexate (MTX), mycophenolate, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP)] were considered conventional therapy. The exclusion criteria were sample size below 50; narrative reviews; specific subpopulations ( e.g ., pregnant women, comorbidities); studies on postoperative IBD; and languages other than English, Spanish, French or Portuguese. The primary outcome measures were clinical remission (induction or maintenance), clinical response and mucosal healing. As secondary outcomes, fecal calprotectin, hospitalization, death, and surgeries were analyzed. The quality of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria. RESULTS The search strategy identified 1995 citations, of which 27 were considered eligible (7 meta-analyses, 20 individual studies). For induction of clinical remission, four meta-analyses were selected (AZA and 6-MP showed no advantage over placebo, MTX or 5-ASA in CD; MTX showed no statistically significant difference versus placebo, 6-MP, or 5-ASA in UC; tacrolimus was superior to placebo for UC in two meta-analyses). Only one meta-analysis evaluated clinical remission maintenance, showing no statistically significant difference between MTX and placebo, 5-ASA, or 6-MP in UC. AZA and 6-MP had no advantage over placebo in induction of clinical response in CD. Three meta-analyses showed the superiority of tacrolimus vs placebo for induction of clinical response in UC. The clinical response rates for cyclosporine were 41.7% in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 55.4% in non-RCTs for UC. For induction of mucosal healing, one meta-analysis showed a favorable rate with tacrolimus versus placebo for UC. For secondary outcomes, no meta-analyses specifically evaluated fecal calprotectin, hospitalization or death. Two meta-analyses were retrieved evaluating colectomy rates for tacrolimu...

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Histologic lesions of possible diagnostic value could exist in 32.1% of chronic diarrhea patients with normal colonoscopy, which can justify, in certain cases, mucosa biopsies, which might contribute for a more precise etiologic diagnosis; also, the distribution of these histologic changes has pointed out the importance of having all colon segments biopsied.

Background Tofacitinib is an oral, small-molecule JAK inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib were demonstrated in patients with moderate to severe UC in 3 Phase 3 studies.1 Here, we present data from an ongoing, open-label, long-term extension (OLE) study.2 Methods We present updated safety and efficacy data from the OLE study (OCTAVE Open, NCT01470612; as of May 2019, database not locked). Eligible patients included non-responders (Week 8 data) in OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2 (NCT01465763; NCT01458951) and completers (Week 52 data) or treatment failures (early-termination data) in OCTAVE Sustain (NCT01458574). Patients in remission (total Mayo score ≤2, no individual subscore >1, rectal bleeding [RB] subscore 0) at Week 52 of OCTAVE Sustain (central read) received tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID); all others received 10 mg BID. Induction non-responders without clinical response (≥3-point and ≥30% decrease from induction study baseline total Mayo score, plus ≥1-point RB subscore decrease or absolute RB subscore ≤1) at Month 2 of the OLE study were withdrawn. Incidence rates (IRs) for adverse events (AEs) of special interest were calculated (no. of unique patients with events per 100 patient-years). Efficacy endpoints were derived from Mayo score (local read) with non-responder and last observation carried forward imputation (NRI-LOCF) [a]. Results Of 944 patients who received ≥1 dose of tofacitinib, 769 (81.5%) received 10 mg BID (median duration [range]: 5 mg BID 1170 [36–2066]; 10 mg BID 668 [1–2159] days). In total, 338 (35.8%) and 93 (9.9%) patients discontinued due to insufficient clinical response and AEs (excl. worsening UC), respectively. IRs (95% confidence interval) in the Tofacitinib. All group were: deaths 0.18 (0.05, 0.47); serious infections 1.57 (1.08, 2.19); herpes zoster (non-serious and serious) 3.27 (2.54, 4.14); major adverse cardiovascular events 0.14 (0.03, 0.40); malignancies excl. non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) 0.92 (0.56, 1.42); NMSC 0.74 (0.43, 1.21); deep vein thrombosis 0.05 (0.00, 0.25); pulmonary embolism 0.18 (0.05, 0.47) (Table). At Month 36 (NRI-LOCF), 58.9% (n = 103) and 33.5% (n = 257) were in remission, 64.6% (n = 113) and 37.0% (n = 284) had mucosal healing (Mayo endoscopic subscore of 0 or 1) [b] and 66.9% (n = 117) and 40.2% (n = 309) showed clinical response, in the 5 and 10 mg BID groups, respectively. Conclusion Incidence of AEs remained generally consistent in patients with moderate to severe UC in the OLE study compared with a previous analysis.2 Data continue to support long-term efficacy with tofacitinib up to 36 months beyond Week 52 of OCTAVE Sustain. References

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on intestinal permeability (IP) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in indomethacin-induced enteropathy, a well-known experimental model of Crohn's disease. Seventy-eight male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to receive indomethacin, indomethacin + UDCA, or vehicles. Indomethacin induced a significant increase in the fraction of urinary excretion of 51Cr-EDTA following oral administration (7.9 +/- 1.3 vs 2.3 +/- 0.2%; P < 0.05) and lucigenin-amplified chemiluminescence in intestinal fragments ex vivo (10.1 +/- 1.9 vs 2.6 +/- 0.4 cpm x 10(3)/mg; P < 0.05) compared to controls. UDCA significantly reversed these effects (P < 0.05), without being incorporated in biliary bile acid composition (HPLC analysis). These findings support a local protective effect of UDCA in experimental ileitis by the modulation of intestinal barrier dysfunction and oxidative stress. In short, they provide insights into mechanisms of action of UDCA in intestinal inflammation and a new perspective on the treatment of Crohn's disease.