The Historical Role and Contemporary Use of Corticosteroids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The use of corticosteroids to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] has been the bedrock of IBD therapeutics since the pioneering work of Truelove and Witts in the UK in the 1950s and subsequent large cohort studies in the USA and Europe. Nevertheless, although effective for induction of remission, these agents do not maintain remission and are associated with a long list of recognised side effects, including a risk of increased mortality. With the arrival of an increasing number of therapies for patients with IBD, the question arises as to whether we are using these agents appropriately in contemporary practice. This review discusses the historical background to steroid usage in IBD, and also provides a brief review of the literature on side effects of corticosteroid treatment as relevant to IBD patients. Data on licensed medications are presented with specific reference to the achievement of corticosteroid-free remission. We review available international data on the incidence of corticosteroid exposure and excess, and discuss some of the observations we and others have made concerning health care and patient-level factors associated with the risk of corticosteroid exposure, including identification of 'at-risk' populations.

British Society of Gastroenterology guidance for management of inflammatory bowel disease during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting unprecedented pressures on healthcare systems globally. Early insights have been made possible by rapid sharing of data from China and Italy. In the UK, we have rapidly mobilised inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) centres in order that preparations can be made to protect our patients and the clinical services they rely on. This is a novel coronavirus; much is unknown as to how it will affect people with IBD. We also lack information about the impact of different immunosuppressive medications. To address this uncertainty, the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) COVID-19 IBD Working Group has used the best available data and expert opinion to generate a risk grid that groups patients into highest, moderate and lowest risk categories. This grid allows patients to be instructed to follow the UK government's advice for shielding, stringent and standard advice regarding social distancing, respectively. Further considerations are given to service provision, medical and surgical therapy, endoscopy, imaging and clinical trials.

British Society of Gastroenterology consensus guidelines on the management of inflammatory bowel disease in adults

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are the principal forms of inflammatory bowel disease. Both represent chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, which displays heterogeneity in inflammatory and symptomatic burden between patients and within individuals over time. Optimal management relies on understanding and tailoring evidence-based interventions by clinicians in partnership with patients. This guideline for management of inflammatory bowel disease in adults over 16 years of age was developed by Stakeholders representing UK physicians (British Society of Gastroenterology), surgeons (Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland), specialist nurses (Royal College of Nursing), paediatricians (British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition), dietitians (British Dietetic Association), radiologists (British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology), general practitioners (Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology) and patients (Crohn's and Colitis UK). A systematic review of 88 247 publications and a Delphi consensus process involving 81 multidisciplinary clinicians and patients was undertaken to develop 168 evidence- and expert opinion-based recommendations for pharmacological, non-pharmacological and surgical interventions, as well as optimal service delivery in the management of both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Comprehensive up-to-date guidance is provided regarding indications for, initiation and monitoring of immunosuppressive therapies, nutrition interventions, pre-, peri- and postoperative management, as well as structure and function of the multidisciplinary team and integration between primary and secondary care. Twenty research priorities to inform future clinical management are presented, alongside objective measurement of priority importance, determined by 2379 electronic survey responses from individuals living with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, including patients, their families and friends.

Assessment of steroid use as a key performance indicator in inflammatory bowel disease-analysis of data from 2385 UK patients

BACKGROUND

Patients with IBD are at risk of excess corticosteroids.

AIMS

To assess steroid excess in a large IBD cohort and test associations with quality improvement and prescribing.

METHODS

Steroid exposure was recorded for outpatients attending 19 centres and associated factors analysed. Measures taken to avoid excess were assessed.

RESULTS

Of 2385 patients, 28% received steroids in the preceding 12 months. 14.8% had steroid excess or dependency. Steroid use was significantly lower at 'intervention centres' which participated in a quality improvement programme (exposure: 23.8% vs 31.0%, P < .001; excess 11.5% vs 17.1%, P < .001). At intervention centres, steroid use fell from 2015 to 2017 (steroid exposure 30.0%-23.8%, P = .003; steroid excess 13.8%-11.5%, P = .17). Steroid excess was judged avoidable in 50.7%. Factors independently associated with reduced steroid excess in Crohn's disease included maintenance with anti-TNF agents (OR 0.61 [95% CI 0.24-0.95]), treatment in a centre with a multi-disciplinary team (OR 0.54 [95% CI 0.20-0.86]) and treatment at an intervention centre (OR 0.72 [95% CI 0.46-0.97]). Treatment with 5-ASA in CD was associated with higher rates of steroid excess (OR 1.72 [95% CI 1.24-2.09]). In ulcerative colitis (UC), thiopurine monotherapy was associated with steroid excess (OR 1.97 [95% CI 1.19-3.01]) and treatment at an intervention centre with less steroid excess (OR 0.72 [95% CI 0.45-0.95]).

CONCLUSIONS

This study validates steroid assessment as a meaningful quality measure and provides a benchmark for this performance indicator in a large cohort. A programme of quality improvement was associated with lower steroid use.

A multi-centre audit of excess steroid use in 1176 patients with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

Corticosteroids are central to inducing remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) but are ineffective maintenance agents.

AIM

To benchmark steroid usage in British outpatients and assess factors associated with excess exposure.

METHODS

We recorded steroid use in unselected IBD outpatients. Cases meeting criteria for steroid dependency or excess were blind peer reviewed to determine whether steroid prescriptions were avoidable. Associations between steroid use and patient/institutional factors were analysed.

RESULTS

Of 1176 patients, 30% received steroids in the prior 12 months. 14.9% had steroid dependency or excess, which was more common in moderate/severe ulcerative colitis (UC) than Crohn's disease (CD) (42.6% vs 28.1%; P = .027). Steroid dependency or excess was deemed avoidable in 49.1%. The annual incidence of inappropriate steroid excess was 7.1%. Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis revealed independent predictors of inappropriate steroid excess. The odds ratio (OR, 95%CI) for moderate/severe compared to mild/quiescent disease activity was 4.59 (1.53-20.64) for UC and 4.60 (2.21-12.00) for CD. In CD, lower rates of inappropriate steroid excess were found in centres with an IBD multi-disciplinary team (OR 0.62 [0.46-0.91]), whilst dedicated IBD clinics protected against inappropriate steroid excess in UC (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.21-0.94). The total number of GI trainees was associated with rates of inappropriate steroid excess.

CONCLUSIONS

Steroid dependency or excess occurred in 14.9% of British IBD patients (in 7.1% potentially avoidable). We demonstrated positive effects of service configurations (IBD multi-disciplinary team, dedicated IBD clinics). Routine recording of steroid dependency or excess is feasible and should be considered a quality metric.

Smoking in inflammatory bowel disease: impact on disease course and insights into the aetiology of its effect

The chronic intestinal inflammation that characterises Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis arises from a complex interplay between host genotype, the immune system, and the intestinal microbiota. In addition, environmental factors such as smoking impact on disease onset and progression. Individuals who smoke are more likely to develop Crohn's disease, and smoking is associated with recurrence after surgery and a poor response to medical therapy. Conversely, smoking appears protective against ulcerative colitis and smokers are less likely to require colectomy. The mechanism by which smoking exerts its impact on disease and the rational for the dichotomous effect in patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis is not clear. Recent evidence suggests that smoking induces alterations to both the innate and acquired immune system. In addition, smoking is associated with a distinct alteration in the intestinal microbiota both in patients with active Crohn's disease and healthy subjects.

Distinct microbial populations exist in the mucosa-associated microbiota of sub-groups of irritable bowel syndrome

BACKGROUND

There is increasing evidence to support a role for the gastrointestinal microbiota in the etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Given the evidence of an inflammatory component to IBS, the mucosa-associated microbiota potentially play a key role in its pathogenesis. The objectives were to compare the mucosa-associated microbiota between patients with diarrhea predominant IBS (IBS-D), constipation predominant IBS (IBS-C) and controls using fluorescent in situ hybridization and to correlate specific bacteria groups with individual IBS symptoms.

METHODS

Forty-seven patients with IBS (27 IBS-D and 20 IBS-C) and 26 healthy controls were recruited to the study. Snap-frozen rectal biopsies were taken at colonoscopy and bacterial quantification performed by hybridizing frozen sections with bacterial-group specific oligonucleotide probes.

KEY RESULTS

Patients with IBS had significantly greater numbers of total mucosa-associated bacteria per mm of rectal epithelium than controls [median 218 (IQR - 209) vs 128 (121) P = 0.007], and this was chiefly comprised of bacteroides IBS [69 (67) vs 14 (41) P = 0.001] and Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium coccoides [52 (58) vs 25 (35) P = 0.03]. Analysis of IBS sub-groups demonstrated that bifidobacteria were lower in the IBS-D group than in the IBS-C group and controls [24 (32) vs 54 (88) vs 32 (35) P = 0.011]. Finally, amongst patients with IBS, the maximum number of stools per day negatively correlated with the number of mucosa-associated bifidobacteria (P < 0.001) and lactobacilli (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

The mucosa-associated microbiota in patients with IBS is significantly different from healthy controls with increases in bacteroides and clostridia and a reduction in bifidobacteria in patients with IBS-D.

High-throughput clone library analysis of the mucosa-associated microbiota reveals dysbiosis and differences between inflamed and non-inflamed regions of the intestine in inflammatory bowel disease

Background

The gut microbiota is thought to play a key role in the development of the inflammatory bowel diseases Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Shifts in the composition of resident bacteria have been postulated to drive the chronic inflammation seen in both diseases (the "dysbiosis" hypothesis). We therefore specifically sought to compare the mucosa-associated microbiota from both inflamed and non-inflamed sites of the colon in CD and UC patients to that from non-IBD controls and to detect disease-specific profiles.

Results

Paired mucosal biopsies of inflamed and non-inflamed intestinal tissue from 6 CD (n = 12) and 6 UC (n = 12) patients were compared to biopsies from 5 healthy controls (n = 5) by in-depth sequencing of over 10,000 near full-length bacterial 16S rRNA genes. The results indicate that mucosal microbial diversity is reduced in IBD, particularly in CD, and that the species composition is disturbed. Firmicutes were reduced in IBD samples and there were concurrent increases in Bacteroidetes, and in CD only, Enterobacteriaceae. There were also significant differences in microbial community structure between inflamed and non-inflamed mucosal sites. However, these differences varied greatly between individuals, meaning there was no obvious bacterial signature that was positively associated with the inflamed gut.

Conclusions

These results may support the hypothesis that the overall dysbiosis observed in inflammatory bowel disease patients relative to non-IBD controls might to some extent be a result of the disturbed gut environment rather than the direct cause of disease. Nonetheless, the observed shifts in microbiota composition may be important factors in disease maintenance and severity.

Gastrointestinal microbiota in irritable bowel syndrome: their role in its pathogenesis and treatment

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder characterized by abdominal pain, change in bowel habit, and bloating. It has traditionally been viewed as a disorder of visceral hypersensitivity heavily influenced by stress, and therefore therapeutic strategies to date have largely reflected this. However, more recently, there is good evidence for a role of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota in its pathogenesis. Changes in fecal microbiota, the use of probiotics, the phenomenon of postinfectious IBS, and the recognition of an upregulated host immune system response suggest that an interaction between the host and GI microbiota may be important in the pathogenesis of IBS. This article explores the role of the GI microbiota in IBS and how their modification might lead to therapeutic benefit.

Review article: lactose intolerance in clinical practice--myths and realities

BACKGROUND

Approximately 70% of the world population has hypolactasia, which often remains undiagnosed and has the potential to cause some morbidity. However, not everyone has lactose intolerance, as several nutritional and genetic factors influence tolerance.

AIMS

To review current clinical practice and identify published literature on the management of lactose intolerance.

METHODS

PubMed was searched using the terms lactose, lactase and diet to find original research and reviews. Relevant articles and clinical experience provided the basis for this review.

RESULTS

Lactose is found only in mammalian milk and is hydrolysed by lactase in the small intestine. The lactase gene has recently been identified. 'Wild-type' is characterized by lactase nonpersistence, often leading to lactose intolerance. Two genetic polymorphisms responsible for persistence have been identified, with their distribution concentrated in north Europeans. Symptoms of lactose intolerance include abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea. Diagnosis is most commonly by the lactose hydrogen breath test. However, most people with hypolactasia, if given appropriate advice, can tolerate some lactose-containing foods without symptoms.

CONCLUSION

In clinical practice, some people with lactose intolerance can consume milk and dairy foods without developing symptoms, whereas others will need lactose restriction.

Timing of surgery for inflammatory bowel disease

Thresholds for elective surgery may be too high

An overview of probiotics and prebiotics

This article reviews the origins and background of probiotics. Evidence for the potential mechanisms of probiotics and prebiotics, and their interactions with the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system are discussed. Evidence is examined for the use of probiotics to treat infantile diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and atopic dermatitis.