Iranian Registry of Crohn's and Colitis: study profile of first nation-wide inflammatory bowel disease registry in Middle East

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A recent study revealed increasing incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Iran. The Iranian Registry of Crohn's and Colitis (IRCC) was designed recently to answer the needs. We reported the design, methods of data collection, and aims of IRCC in this paper. METHODS: IRCC is a multicenter prospective registry, which is established with collaboration of more than 100 gastroenterologists from different provinces of Iran. Minimum data set for IRCC was defined according to an international consensus on standard set of outcomes for IBD. A pilot feasibility study was performed on 553 IBD patients with a web-based questionnaire. The reliability of questionnaire evaluated by Cronbach's α. RESULTS: All sections of questionnaire had Cronbach's α of more than 0.6. In pilot study, 312 of participants (56.4%) were male and mean age was 38 years (standard deviation=12.8) and 378 patients (68.35%) had ulcerative colitis, 303 subjects (54,7%) had college education and 358 patients (64.74%) were of Fars ethnicity. We found that 68 (12.3%), 44 (7.9%), and 13 (2.3%) of participants were smokers, hookah and opium users, respectively. History of appendectomy was reported in 58 of patients (10.48%). The most common medication was 5-aminosalicylate (94.39%). CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, IRCC is the first national IBD registry in the Middle East and could become a reliable infrastructure for national and international research on IBD. IRCC will improve the quality of care of IBD patients and provide national information for policy makers to better plan for controlling IBD in Iran.

Vitamin D status and its relation to inflammatory markers in patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], Crohn's disease [CD], and ulcerative colitis [UC] are autoimmune inflammatory diseases of the alimentary tract, which seems to be caused by the interaction of environmental and genetic factors as well as diet and nutritional factors such as vitamin D. The aim of this study was to assess the vitamin D status and its associations with erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] as inflammatory markers in patients with UC

Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study 90 patients with mild to moderate UC who were resident of Tehran were assessed. 25[OH]D, parathyroid hormone [PTH], ESR and hs-CRP were measured. Dietary intake was assessed by 3-day 24h diet recall. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA [Version 12]

Results: The average serum 25-OH-vitamin D3 was 33.1+/-8.3 ng/mL and 38.9 % of the patients were vitamin D deficient or insufficient [37.3 % of men and 41% of women]. No significant correlation between serum 25[OH]D and hs-CRP, ESR, body mass index [BMI], and disease duration was found. There were no significant differences in serum 25[OH]D between men and women. Mean daily dietary vitamin D and calcium intakes were 189.5 Iu [95% CI: 176.0-203.1] and 569.5 mg [95% CI: 538.8-600.2] respectively

Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study 38.9% of the patients with mild to moderate UC were vitamin D deficient or insufficient and vitamin D level was not correlated to ESR and/or hs-CRP. More studies are needed to investigate the effect of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of UC or as a part of its treatment

Mesalazine has no effect on mucosal immune biomarkers in patients with diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome referred to Shariati Hospital: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Intestinal mast cells may cause gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of mesalazine on the number of lamina propria mast cells and clinical manifestations of patients with diarrhea-dominant IBS referred to Shariati Hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Methods: This was a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial conducted on 49 patients with diarrhea-dominant IBS. The patients were randomly assigned to one of the experiment or control groups. The patients in experiment group took 2400 mg mesalazine daily in three divided doses for 8 weeks and the patient in control group took placebo on the same basis. Our first targeted outcome was an assigned downturn of mast cells number to the safe colonic baseline and the next one was a marked palliation of disease symptoms. Data were analyzed conforming intention-to-treat method. We used MANCOVA test to compare our both assigned outcomes in the two groups. We also compared the data with baseline values in both groups. All statistical tests were performed at the significance level of 0.05

Results: There was no significant difference between Mesalazine and placebo groups regarding the number of mast cells [p value=0.396], abdominal pain [p value=0.054], bloating [p value=0.365], defecation urgency [p value=0.212], and defecation frequency [p value=0.702]

Conclusion: Mesalazine had no significant effect either on the number of mast cells or on the severity of disease symptoms. This finding seems to be inconsistent with the hypothesis indicating immune mechanisms as potential therapeutic targets in IBS. The possible difference in this effect of Mesalazine should be evaluated in further studies among populations varying in race, ethnic, and geographical characteristics

Nonadherence to medication in inflammatory bowel disease: rate and reasons

Background: This study is the first study to evaluate the nonadherence rate and reasons of same patient with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] in Iran

Method: During 9 months, 500 patients with IBD were enrolled in the study. Patients were interviewed about their nonadherence behaviors. Factor analysis was used to analyze the collected answers

Results: The overall rate of nonadherence was 33.3% [27.6% intentional nonadherence and 5.7% unintentional nonadherence]. 33.6% of the patients had at least one relapse after discontinuing treatment. The most frequent reason for intentional nonadherence was discontinuing the treatment after recovering from symptoms [42.7%]. The most frequent reason for unintentional nonadherence was forgetfulness [5.2%]. 19.8% of the patients did not visit their gastroenterologist on time and they purchased drugs from the drugstore. These patients reported that their clinics were too far and difficult to access. There was no significant relationship between nonadherence and demographic variables

Conclusion: Multiple reasons are suggested as factors of medication nonadherence and they seem to be different among different populations. Determining these possible reasons, could lead to finding suitable strategies to overcome or reduce them

Mean polyp per patient is an accurate and readily obtainable surrogate for adenoma detection rate: results from an opportunistic screening colonoscopy program

The incidence of colorectal cancer is rising in several developing countries. In the absence of integrated endoscopy and pathology databases, adenoma detection rate [ADR], as a validated quality indicator of screening colonoscopy, is generally difficult to obtain in practice. We aimed to measure the correlation of polyp-related indicators with ADR in order to identify the most accurate surrogate [s] of ADR in routine practice. We retrospectively reviewed the endoscopic and histopathological findings of patients who underwent colonoscopy at a tertiary gastrointestinal clinic. The overall ADR and advanced-ADR were calculated using patient-level data. The Pearson's correlation coefficient [r] was applied to measure the strength of the correlation between the quality metrics obtained by endoscopists. A total of 713 asymptomatic adults aged 50 and older who underwent their first-time screening colonoscopy were included in this study. The ADR and advanced-ADR were 33.00% [95% CI: 29.52-36.54] and 13.18% [95% CI: 10.79-15.90], respectively. We observed good correlations between polyp detection rate [PDR] and ADR [r=0.93], and mean number of polyp per patient [MPP] and ADR [r=0.88] throughout the colon. There was a positive, yet insignificant correlation between advanced ADRs and non-advanced ADRs [r=0.42,p=0.35]. MPP is strongly correlated with ADR, and can be considered as a reliable and readily obtainable proxy for ADR in opportunistic screening colonoscopy programs

Is the prevalence of celiac disease higher than the general population in inflammatory bowel disease?

In some studies inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] and celiac disease were considered to be associated and some believe that this association may influence the prognosis of IBD. However, there is a considerable controversy regarding this association. Therefore ,we aimed to assess the association of these two common digestive diseases and evaluate the complications of this association. In this comparative study, 200 patients with ulcerative colitis [UC] and 206 patients with Crohn's disease [CD] were evaluated for celiac disease using relevant diagnostic tests and pathologic studies. Total IgA, IgA tissue transgulaminase antibody and specific IgA anti endomysial antibody were asseyed. In cases of IgA deficiency, total IgG and IgG tissue TG and IgG anti endomyseal Ab were measured. Patients with increased specific IgA and IgG antibodies for celiac disease, underwent endoscopy and 4 standard samples were obtained. Our results were compared with the results of the prevalence study of celiac disease in the general population. Data were analyzed using analytic and descriptive statistics at a significance level of 5%. Among the studied patients, 1 patient with UC had elevated IgA anti tTG antibody and IgA anti-endomysial antibody who underwent endoscopy and celiac was confirmed on pathology. Hence, of the 200 patients with UC, the diagnosis of celiac disease was confirmed in 1 patient [1:200] with no significant difference with the prevalence of celiac disease in the general population [1:166]. However, none of our patients with Crohn's disease had celiac disease [0:206]. We found no significant difference in the prevalence of celiac disease between patients with UC and the general population. Since most of our participants had a mild level of Crohn's activation, none of those with Crohn's disease had celiac disease. Complications of IBD including sclerosing cholangitis, may be more common in patients with concurrent celiac disease. Therefore, it is recommended that celiac disease be considered in patients with severe and complicated IBD

Report of a rare case of nasal mucosa pyoderma vegetans in a patient with ulcerative colitis

Some dermatologic manifestations are common in ulcerative colitis [UC]. Herein, we present a 36-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis and uncommon nasal mucosa pyoderma vegetans. The patient presented to our hospital with symptoms of active colitis and a concomitant 3×4×5 cm dermato-mucosal lesion in her left nasal lumen. After surgery of the mucosal lesion, the treatment for her active colitis was initiated with intravenous infliximab and oral asacol. After a 1-year follow-up, no sign of recurrence favoring mucosal lesion was noted and symptoms of ulcerative colitis were managed properly

Physicians' knowledge and attitude towards fecal microbiota transplant in Iran

Fecal microbiota transplant [FMT] is employed to replace the 'unhealthy' microbiota of the patient with the 'healthy' microbiota of a pre-screened healthy donor. Given the growing importance of gut microbiota dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of intestinal or extraintestinal diseases; it is conceivable that FMT becomes integrated in the routine clinical practice. Our objective was to assess the knowledge and attitude of the Iranian physicians towards FMT. We surveyed the participants of Iranian gastroenterology and hepatology 2014 conference. Overall, 146 [68.5%] were familiar with FMT; of whom 132 [94.28%] were willing to accept FMT if scientifically and ethically approved and 115 [88.46%] were willing to refer their patients for FMT if indicated. In total, 42 [30.7%] had identified stool preparation as the most unappealing aspect of FMT, while 17 [11.6%] reported the therapeutic use of fecal material as the most unappealing and 39 [28.5%] indicated that both are equally unappealing. The doctors who had an overall positive opinion toward FMT reported less negative feelings towards FMT. Iranian physicians are willing to accept FMT as a therapeutic option if it is scientifically justified and ethically approved. Nevertheless, physicians prefer to skip the stool preparation phase; as they are more in favour of synthetic microbiota as opposed to fecal microbiota

Soy isoflavones supplementation for patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized double blind clinical trial

Irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] is one of the common gastrointestinal disorders with unknown etiology. In experimental models, it is proposed that soy isoflavones may suppress the clinical and psychological symptoms of IBS by alteration of gut barrier tight junctions. We conducted this study to evaluate the effects of soy isoflavones on IBS symptoms and patients' quality of life. In a randomized double blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, 67 patients with IBS were allocated to consume either soy isoflavones capsules or a placebo for 6 weeks. The primary outcome was a significant reduction in symptoms severity score and the secondary outcome was a significant improvement in quality of life. 45 participants completed the study. There was no significant changes in mean differences of symptoms severity score between the two groups; however soy isoflavone supplementation could significantly improve the quality of life scores [p=0.009]. Soy isoflavones supplementation could improve the quality of life in patients with IBS; however it did not suppress the symptoms seventy in 6 weeks. Further research with a longer duration is needed to determine the sustained clinical efficacy. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02026518

Characteristics of colorectal polyps and cancer; a retrospective review of colonoscopy data in Iran

Early diagnosis and endoscopic resection of adenomatous polyps is the main approach for screening and prevention of colorectal cancer [CRC]. We aimed to assess polyp detection rate [PDR] and to characterize demographic, clinical, and pathological features of colorectal polyps in an Iranian population. We retrospectively analyzed the data from 5427 colonoscopies performed during 2007-2012 at Masoud Clinic, the main endoscopy center associated with Sasan Alborz Biomedical Research Center, in Tehran, Iran. Our sample included 2928 [54%] women and 2499 [46%] men, with the mean age of 48.3 years [SD=16.1]. The most common reasons for colonoscopy included screening in 25.0%, and gastrointestinal bleeding in 15.2%. Cecal intubation was successful in 86% of patients. The quality of bowel preparation was fair to excellent in 78.1% [n=4235] of colonoscopies. Overall PDR was 42.0% [95% CI: 40.6-43.3]. The PDR in men [51.1%, 95% CI: 49.1-53.1] was significantly higher than women [34.2%, 95% CI: 32.4-35.9, p<0.001]. Polyps were more frequently observed in patients after the 6th decade of life [F=3.2; p=0.004]. CRC was detected in 2.9% [73/2499] of men and 1.9% [57/2928] of women [p=0.02]. The mean age for patients with cancer was significantly higher than that for individuals with polyps, 60.9 [SD=13.4] year vs. 56.9 [SD=13.7] year, respectively [p=0.001]. Almost 82.8% of the lesions were precancerous with tubular type predominance [62.3%] followed by tubulo-villous [10.3%], villous [6.6%], and serrated [3.6%]. Hyperplastic/inflammatory polyps comprised 17.2% of lesions. Distal colon was more prone to develop polyps and cancer than proximal colon in our series. These findings provide a great infrastructure for next preventive programs and have implications for colorectal cancer screening at population-level

[Validation of a revised version of the short-form Mc- Gill pain questionnaire [SF-MPQ-2] for IBS Patients]

The aim of this study was the validation of the revised McGill Pain Questionnaire [SF-MPQ-2] in patients with irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]. A total of 107 [40 males, 67 females] IBS patients diagnosed according to Rome III criteria who referred to the Gastroenterology Clinic at Baqiyatallah Hospital in 1389 enrolled in this study. Enrolled patients completed a revised version of the short-form SF-MPQ-2 which had been translated into Farsi. To evaluate the validity of SF-MPQ-2 questionnaire, an exploratory factor analysis was performed. For assessment of reliability, we used Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the split-half method test. Factor analysis denoted a three-factor model that included perceptions of pain sensation, emotional pain and neuropathic pain. The validity of the SF-MPQ-2 was satisfactory according to factor analysis. A comparison between patients with pain and those without pain provided evidence that supported the criterion validity of the questionnaire. Evidence was also adequate to support the content validity of the questionnaire as a measure of pain in IBS patients. The reliability of the scales was also acceptable. The findings showed acceptable reliability and validity for the revised version of the short-form SF-MPQ-2 in confirming the presence of IBS.

Risk factors for postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease

Postoperative relapse is a common feature of Crohn's disease [CD] in Western countries but its frequency and risk factors have not been studied in the Middle East where there is a rapid upsurge in the incidence of CD. This study aims to research the frequency and risk factors of its recurrence after surgery among 566 Iranian patients with CD in Tehran, Iran. All 566 patients diagnosed with Crohn's disease that enrolled in Digestive Diseases Research Center [DDRC] Inflammatory Bowel Disease [IBD] from April 1991 until November 2011 were included in our study. We reviewed clinical data that included time of surgery, possible risk factors and follow up after surgery. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to seek possible risk factors for early postoperative recurrence. The mean age of patients was 30.85 [range: 12-88] years at the onset of enrollment. During a mean follow up of 55 months, 139 [24.5%] out of 566 Crohn's disease patients underwent at least one surgery while 32 [23%] required additional surgery during the period after their first surgical intervention. Cigarette smoking was a risk factor for both initial [p=0.001] and additional surgery [p<0.0001]. The penetrating behavior of Crohn's disease, in addition to its effect on surgery [p<0.001], showed a significant influence on disease recurrence [p<0.0007] along with perianal involvement which was significantly associated with relapse [p=0.001]. Although disease duration of more than ten years was a significant risk factor for surgery [p=0.043] its effect on recurrence was insignificant [p=0.059]. The rate of initial and additional surgery is much lower in this region of the world, which is partially due to the relatively new occurrence of Crohn's disease in the Middle East. Cigarette smoking, disease duration over ten years, penetrating behavior of CD, and perianal disease were the main risk factors for surgery.

18-year-old man with hepatitis b virus infection and Hepatoblastoma

A young man presented with a large liver mass and positive hepatitis B virus markers. This 18-year-old male has developed ascites, jaundice, high serum alpha fetoprotein [AFP] level, liver mass and portal hypertension, without fever or calcification in the mass. All favored the diagnosis of rapidly, progressive hepatocellular carcinoma, however proven hepatoblastoma in liver biopsy. Hepatoblastoma usually manifests prior to the third year of life, but can rarely be seen in older children or adults. Although HCC rarely can be presented in young patients with HBV infection, but in patients without cirrhosis hepato-blastoma should be considered as the first possible diagnosis

Pulmonary function and methacholine challenge tests in patients with ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory chronic disease which is believed to be a multi organ condition. The prevalence of ulcerative colitis is reportedly increasing in Iran presenting with the same clinical characteristics as in developing countries. Pulmonary manifestations of ulcerative colitis are increasingly reported. In this study, we investigated the incidence of bronchial hyper-responsiveness [BHR] in ulcerative colitis [UC] patients. Fifty-one UC patients with definite diagnosis referred to Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were selected to be evaluated with methacholine challenge test from October 2010 to October 2011. Patients were compared for their methacholine test outcome and its association with age, sex, diagnosis time, and disease activity. The median age was 41 [range 15 to 65] years. The median time of diagnosis was 7 [range <1 to 16] years. Forty-five percent were females, 18% had active disease and 13% had comorbidity. Nine percent of patients with UC had abnormal PFT in our study. Three cases [5%] had bronchial hyperresponsiveness that was not correlated with sex, age, time of diagnosis, or disease activity. A small number of ulcerative colitis patients in our study had disturbed pulmonary function test which is in concord with the findings of other studies. However, higher rates of bronchial hyper-responsiveness have been reported in other studies. Confounding factors like cigarette smoking and medications, which were negative or minimal in our study, may influence the results

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the small bowel: a case report

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor [IMT] is a rare neoplastic lesion with tendency toward local aggressive behavior and recurrence. The tumor most commonly occurs in the pulmonary system of children and young adult, although it may rarely develop in older patients and other organs. Symptoms are non-specific and depend on the location of the tumor. The gastrointestinal tract is rarely the primary site of origin for this lesion. We report an unusual presentation of this rare lesion in a 58 year old woman with intussusception and partial intestinal obstruction