The management of the hospitalized ulcerative colitis patient: the medical-surgical conundrum

Current Management of Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis: New Insights on the Surgical Approaches

Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is a life-threatening medical emergency with considerable morbidity. Despite recent advances in medical IBD therapy, colectomy rates for ASUC remain high. A scoping review of published articles on ASUC was performed. We collected data, such as general information of the disease, diagnosis and initial assessment, and available medical and surgical treatments focusing on technical aspects of surgical approaches. The most relevant articles were considered in this scoping review. The management of ASUC is challenging; currently, personalized treatment for it is unavailable. Sequential medical therapy should be administrated, preferably in high-volume IBD centers with close patient monitoring and indication for surgery in those cases with persistent symptoms despite medical treatment, complications, and clinical worsening. A total colectomy with end ileostomy is typically performed in the acute setting. Managing rectal stump is challenging, and all individual and technical aspects should be considered. Conversely, when performing elective colectomy for ASUC, a staged surgical procedure is usually preferred, thus optimizing the patients' status preoperatively and minimizing postoperative complications. The minimally invasive approach should be selected whenever technically feasible. Robotic versus laparoscopic ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) has shown similar outcomes in terms of safety and postoperative morbidity. The transanal approach to ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (Ta-IPAA) is a recent technique for creating an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis via a transanal route. Early experiences suggest comparable short- and medium-term functional results of the transanal technique to those of traditional approaches. However, there is a need for additional comparative outcomes data and a better understanding of the ideal training and implementation pathways for this procedure. This manuscript predominantly explores the surgical treatment of ASUC. Additionally, it provides an overview of currently available medical treatment options that the surgeon should reasonably consider in a multidisciplinary setting.

Surgical treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: From the gastroenterologist's stand-point

Treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) represents, in the majority of cases, a real challenge to the gastroenterologist's abilities and skills as well as a clinical test concerning his/her levels of medical knowledge and experience. During the last two decades, our pharmaceutical arsenal was significantly strengthened, especially after the introduction of the so-called biological agents, drugs which to a large extent not only improved the results of conservative treatment but also changed the natural history of the disease. However, colectomy is still necessary for some patients with severe UC although smaller compared to the past, precisely because of the improvements achieved in the available conservative treatment. Nevertheless, surgeries to treat colon dysplasia and cancer are increasing to some extent. At the same time, satisfactory improvements in surgical techniques, the pre-and post-operative care of patients, as well as the selection of the appropriate time for performing the surgery have been noticed. Regarding patients with CD, the improvement of conservative treatment did not significantly change the need for surgical treatment since two-thirds of patients need to undergo surgery at some point in the course of their disease. On the other hand, the outcome of the operation has improved through good preoperative care as well as the wide application of more conservative surgical techniques aimed at keeping as much of the bowel in situ as possible. This article discusses the indications for surgical management of UC patients from the gastroenterologist's point of view, the results of the emerging new techniques such as transanal surgery and robotics, as well as alternative operations to the classic ileo-anal-pouch anastomosis. The author also discusses the basic principles of surgical management of patients with CD based on the results of the relevant literature. The self-evident is emphasized, that is, to achieve an excellent therapeutic result in patients with severe inflammatory bowel disease in today's era; the close cooperation of gastroenterologists with surgeons, pathologists, imaging, and nutritionists is of paramount importance.

Biomarker dynamics during infliximab salvage for acute severe ulcerative colitis: C-reactive protein (CRP)-lymphocyte ratio and CRP-albumin ratio are useful in predicting colectomy

BACKGROUND/AIMS

The residual risk of colectomy after infliximab salvage in steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is required to inform the need for subsequent maintenance biologic therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the dynamic response of common serum biomarkers to infliximab salvage and assess their utility in predicting subsequent colectomy.

METHODS

A retrospective single-center cohort study was conducted on all patients who received infliximab salvage for steroid-refractory ASUC between January 1, 2010, and July 31, 2019. Biomarkers were assessed on admission and days 1 and 3 post infliximab, and included C-reactive protein (CRP)-albumin-ratio (CAR), CRP-lymphocyte-ratio (CLR), platelet-lymphocyte-ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR).

RESULTS

Of 94 patients (median age, 35 years; 67% of male), 20% required colectomy at 12 months. Biomarkers on day 3 post-infliximab best differentiated nonresponders, who had higher CRP, lower albumin and lower lymphocyte count (each P< 0.05). Day 3 predictive performance (area under the curve) for 12-month colectomy was best for CAR (0.871) and CLR (0.874), which were similar to Lindgren (0.829; P> 0.05) but superior to Mayo (0.726), partial Mayo (0.719), PLR (0.719), Ho index (0.714), NLR (0.675), Travis score (0.657) and endoscopic Mayo (0.609) (each P< 0.05). A day 3 CAR cutoff of 0.47 mg/g had 79% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 94% negative predictive value (NPV) to predict colectomy; while a day 3 CLR cutoff of 6.0 mg/109 had 84% sensitivity, 84% specificity, 96% NPV.

CONCLUSIONS

CAR and CLR measured on day 3 post infliximab salvage for steroid-refractory ASUC represent simple and routinely performed biomarkers that appear to be strong predictors of colectomy. Prospective studies are required to confirm the utility of these predictive scores.

Increased Gene Copy Number of DEFA1A3 Is Associated With the Severity of Ulcerative Colitis

INTRODUCTION

DEFA1A3 encodes human neutrophil peptides (HNPs) 1-3 and has multiple copy number variations (CNVs). HNPs are associated with innate immunity. Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal disorder, is a life-threatening condition, and predictive markers of UC severity are needed. This study investigated the relationship between DEFA1A3 CNV and UC severity.

METHODS

This study enrolled 165 patients with UC. The relationship between DEFA1A3 CNV and disease severity was analyzed based on Mayo score, patient characteristics, and treatment methods. In addition, serum and stimulated neutrophil-derived HNP concentrations were also measured in patients with high and low DEFA1A3 CNV.

RESULTS

DEFA1A3 CNV was significantly correlated with Mayo score and white blood cell count (R = 0.46, P < 0.0001; R = 0.29, P = 0.003, respectively), and only high copy numbers of DEFA1A3 were independent factors for severe UC (P < 0.001, odds ratio: 1.88, 95% confidence interval, 1.34-2.61). The number of severe UC patients with high DEFA1A3 CNV was significantly greater than those with low CNV. We confirmed the associations between DEFA1A3 and UC severity using a validation cohort. In addition, the HNP concentration in high-copy number patients was significantly higher after neutrophil stimulation than that in low-copy number patients.

DISCUSSION

This study demonstrated that there is a correlation between DEFA1A3 copy number and severity in patients with UC. In addition, neutrophils from UC patients with higher DEFA1A3 CNV had high reactivity of secretion of HNPs after stimulation. DEFA1A3 CNV may be a novel severity marker and a potential therapeutic target for UC.