The prognosis for UC during the first 10 years was generally good. The colectomy rate was low, and a large proportion of patients were in remission as time progressed. Patients with initially extensive colitis and elevated ESR could benefit from an early potent medical treatment strategy.

No abstract

Ten years after disease onset IBD patients had an increased RR for DP as compared with the background population. The youngest patients had the highest RR. Markers of severe disease course predicted WD.

Using MRC analysis of patients with long-term IBD, we found the prevalence of PSC to be around 3-fold higher than that detected based on symptoms. Sixty-five percent of patients had subclinical PSC associated with progressive IBD, with no biochemical abnormalities and mild disease, based on radiology findings. PSC appears to progress in patients with subclinical disease, but long-term outcomes are not known.

At 20 years after IBD diagnosis, fatigue scores were higher and chronic fatigue was more frequent among IBD patients with active disease than in the reference population and among those with quiescent IBD. Subjectively perceived disease activity, sleep quality, anxiety and depression were associated with fatigue in IBD patients.

Faecal carriage of salmonella was investigated in 320 hedgehogs from Moss municipality in south-eastern Norway, Askøy, Bergen and Os municipalities in central-western Norway, and five municipalities in south-western and central Norway. The sampling in Moss was carried out 1 year after a human outbreak of salmonellosis, whereas the sampling in Askøy, Bergen and Os was carried out during a human outbreak. Both outbreaks were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium 4,5,12:i:1,2. No salmonella were detected in the hedgehogs from south-western (0/115) and central (0/24) Norway. Thirty-nine percent (39/99) of the animals sampled on Jeløy, and 41% (34/82) of those from Askøy, Bergen and Os, carried S. Typhimurium 4,5,12:i:1,2. The PFGE profile of isolates from hedgehogs and human beings were identical within each of the two outbreak areas. A significantly higher carrier rate of S. Typhimurium occurred among hedgehogs sampled at feeding places, compared to those caught elsewhere. The salmonella-infected hedgehog populations most likely constituted the primary source of infection during both of the human disease outbreaks, and the Norwegian hedgehog is suggested as a reservoir host of S. Typhimurium 4,5,12:i:1,2.

SF-36 scores were not reduced compared to the general population sample. The presence of current symptoms, the use of corticosteroids, work status (not working), female gender, and smoking had a negative impact on HRQoL.

Fecal calprotectin can be used in daily practice to monitor patients with UC receiving infliximab maintenance therapy. Two consecutive measurements >300 mg/kg is more specific than a single measurement for predicting relapse.