Efficacy and Safety of Infliximab Therapy and Predictors of Response in Korean Patients with Crohn's Disease: A Nationwide, Multicenter Study

PURPOSE: Infliximab is currently used for the treatment of active Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of infliximab therapy and to determine the predictors of response in Korean patients with CD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 317 patients who received at least one infliximab infusion for active luminal CD (n=198) and fistulizing CD (n=86) or both (n=33) were reviewed retrospectively in 29 Korean referral centers. Clinical outcomes of induction and maintenance therapy with infliximab, predictors of response, and adverse events were evaluated. RESULTS: In patients with luminal CD, the rates of clinical response and remission at week 14 were 89.2% and 60.0%, respectively. Male gender and isolated colonic disease were associated with higher remission rates at week 14. In week-14 responders, the probabilities of sustained response and remission were 96.2% and 93.3% at week 30 and 88.0% and 77.0% at week 54, respectively. In patients with fistulizing CD, clinical response and remission were observed in 85.0% and 56.2% of patients, respectively, at week 14. In week-14 responders, the probabilities of sustained response and remission were 94.0% and 97.1%, respectively, at both week 30 and week 54. Thirty-nine patients (12.3%) experienced adverse events related to infliximab. Serious adverse events developed in 19 (6.0%) patients including seven cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis. CONCLUSION: Infliximab induction and maintenance therapy are effective and well tolerable in Korean patients with luminal and fistulizing CD. However, clinicians must be aware of the risk of rare yet critical adverse events.

Duodenal Carcinoid Tumor Treated by Endoscopic Mucosal Resection / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Duodenal carcinoid tumors are rare, and they represent only 2.0~8.9% of all gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors in the western countries. Duodenal carcinoid tumors have previously been treated by surgical resection. The recently recommended treatment for a carcinoid tumor smaller than 1 cm in diameter is endoscopic resection. We experienced a case of a duodenal carcinoid tumor in a 56 year-old man who presented with upper abdominal pain. On the endoscopic examination, a 6 mm sized polypoid lesion with a central depression was noticed on the duodenal bulb. The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of carcinoid tumor. The endoscopic ultrasound probe showed a hypoechoic tumor that was confined to the submocosal layer. The tumor was completely resected by an endoscopic mucosal resection technique and using a transparent cap.

The Pathological Differences of Colorectal Polyps Examined between the Use of a Forcep Biopsy and Endoscopic Resection / 대한소화기내시경학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Complete excision of colorectal polyps is not always performed for various reasons. We investigated the discrepancy between the histologic findings of polyps excised by a forcep biopsy and histologic findings of polyps excised by endoscopic resection. METHODS: We reviewed 137 patients with 206 colorectal polyps removed by endoscopic resection following forcep biopsies. Endoscopic records and pathological reports of patients were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The discrepancy of the histological type was 18.4% between the histologic findings of a polyp evaluated after a forceps biopsy and the histologic findings of a polyp evaluated after endoscopic resection. The discrepancy of high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and a cancerous condition was 22.3% using the two procedures. A total of 15.5% of adenomas without HGD and 3.0% of hyperplasia in the forcep biopsy specimens were identified as adenomas with HGD in the resected specimens. A total of 18.2% of adenomas with HGD and 4.1% of adenomas without HGD in the forcep biopsy specimens were identified as adenomas with carcinoma in the resected specimens. The discrepancy rates of the histological type for HGD and a cancerous condition were high for penduculated polyps with a diameter of less than 10 mm and for polyps with a diameter of greater than 16 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Approaches to review the histology of an entire colorectal polyp should be performed, especially for polyps with an adenomatous histology and for polyps of the pedunculated form with a diameter of less than 10 mm and a diameter of greater than 16 mm after a forcep biopsy.