; for the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group IMPORTANCE For patients with painful chronic pancreatitis, surgical treatment is postponed until medical and endoscopic treatment have failed. Observational studies have suggested that earlier surgery could mitigate disease progression, providing better pain control and preserving pancreatic function. OBJECTIVE To determine whether early surgery is more effective than the endoscopy-first approach in terms of clinical outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The ESCAPE trial was an unblinded, multicenter, randomized clinical superiority trial involving 30 Dutch hospitals participating in the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group. From April 2011 until September 2016, a total of 88 patients with chronic pancreatitis, a dilated main pancreatic duct, and who only recently started using prescribed opioids for severe pain (strong opioids for Յ2 months or weak opioids for Յ6 months) were included. The 18-month follow-up period ended in March 2018. INTERVENTIONS There were 44 patients randomized to the early surgery group who underwent pancreatic drainage surgery within 6 weeks after randomization and 44 patients randomized to the endoscopy-first approach group who underwent medical treatment, endoscopy including lithotripsy if needed, and surgery if needed. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was pain, measured on the Izbicki pain score and integrated over 18 months (range, 0-100 [increasing score indicates more pain severity]). Secondary outcomes were pain relief at the end of follow-up; number of interventions, complications, hospital admissions; pancreatic function; quality of life (measured on the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey [SF-36]); and mortality. RESULTS Among 88 patients who were randomized (mean age, 52 years; 21 (24%) women), 85 (97%) completed the trial. During 18 months of follow-up, patients in the early surgery group had a lower Izbicki pain score than patients in the group randomized to receive the endoscopy-first approach group (37 vs 49; between-group difference, −12 points [95% CI, −22 to −2]; P = .02). Complete or partial pain relief at end of follow-up was achieved in 23 of 40 patients (58%) in the early surgery vs 16 of 41 (39%)in the endoscopy-first approach group (P = .10). The total number of interventions was lower in the early surgery group (median, 1 vs 3; P < .001). Treatment complications (27% vs 25%), mortality (0% vs 0%), hospital admissions, pancreatic function, and quality of life were not significantly different between early surgery and the endoscopy-first approach. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among patients with chronic pancreatitis, early surgery compared with an endoscopy-first approach resulted in lower pain scores when integrated over 18 months. However, further research is needed to assess persistence of differences over time and to replicate the study findings.

Screening for variants in TPMT did not reduce the proportions of patients with hematologic ADRs during thiopurine treatment for IBD. However, there was a 10-fold reduction in hematologic ADRs among variant carriers who were identified and received a dose reduction, compared with variant carriers who did not, without differences in treatment efficacy. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00521950.

We found a limited risk for developing IBD-related CRC in The Netherlands. Age, duration of PSC and IBD, concomitant pseudopolyps, and use immunosuppressives or anti-TNF were strong prognostic factors in general hospitals.

Background and aims The COVID-19 risk and disease course in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients remains uncertain. Therefore, we aimed to assess the clinical presentation, disease course and outcomes of COVID-19 in IBD patients. Second, we determined COVID-19 incidences in IBD patients and compared this with the general population. Methods We conducted a multicenter, nationwide IBD cohort study in the Netherlands and identified patients with COVID-19. First, we assessed the COVID-19 disease course and outcomes. Second, we compared COVID-19 incidences between our IBD study cohort and the general Dutch population. Results We established an IBD cohort of 34,763 patients. COVID-19 was diagnosed in 100/34,763 patients (0.29%). 20/100 patients (20%) had severe COVID-19 defined as admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, and/or death. Hospitalization occurred in 59/100 (59.0%) patients and 13/100 (13.0%) died. All patients who deceased had comorbidities and all but one were &gt; 65 years. In line, we identified &gt; 1 comorbidity as an independent risk factor for hospitalization (OR 4.20, 95% CI 1.58-11.17, p = 0.004). Incidences of COVID-19 between the IBD study cohort and the general population were comparable (287.6 (95% CI 236.6-349.7) versus 333.0 (95% CI 329.3-336.7) per 100,000 patients, respectively; p = 0.15). Conclusions Of 100 cases with IBD and COVID-19, 20% developed severe COVID-19, 59% was hospitalized and 13% died. A comparable COVID-19 risk was found between the IBD cohort (100/34,763 = 0.29%) and the general Dutch population. The presence of &gt; 1 comorbidities was an independent risk factor for hospitalization due to COVID-19.

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Bacteremia, infected necrosis, organ failure, and mortality were all associated with intestinal barrier dysfunction early in the course of acute pancreatitis. Overall, prophylaxis with this specific combination of probiotic strains reduced bacterial translocation, but was associated with increased bacterial translocation and enterocyte damage in patients with organ failure.

Although placement of SEMS (uncovered or partially covered) for palliation of extrahepatic bile duct obstruction initially is more expensive than placement of plastic stents, SEMS have longer functional time. The total costs after 1 year do not differ significantly with stent type. Dutch Clinical Trial Registration no: NTR1361.

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