Vitamin D deficiency in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: association with disease activity and quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency is common in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in an IBD cohort. It was hypothesized that vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased disease activity and lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL). METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study. Harvey-Bradshaw index and ulcerative colitis disease activity index were used to assess disease activity. Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire scores were used to assess HRQOL. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of vitamin D deficiency and its association with disease activity and HRQOL. RESULTS: The study included 504 IBD patients (403 Crohn's disease [CD] and 101 ulcerative colitis [UC]) who had a mean disease duration of 15.5 years in CD patients and 10.9 years in UC patients; 49.8% were vitamin D deficient, with 10.9% having severe deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with older age (P = .004) and older age at diagnosis (P = .03). Vitamin D deficiency was associated with lower HRQOL (regression coefficient -2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI], -4.10 to -0.33) in CD but not UC (regression coefficient 0.41, 95% CI, -2.91 to 3.73). Vitamin D deficiency was also associated with increased disease activity in CD (regression coefficient 1.07, 95% CI, 0.43 to 1.71). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency is common in IBD and is independently associated with lower HRQOL and greater disease activity in CD. There is a need for prospective studies to assess this correlation and examine the impact of vitamin D supplementation on disease course.

A noninvasive clinical scoring model predicts risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in morbidly obese patients.

BACKGROUND: A simple model to predict nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is desirable to optimize the selection of patients for liver biopsy. We investigated a large group of morbidly obese patients to derive a scoring system based on simple clinical and laboratory variables. METHODS: Consecutive subjects undergoing bariatric surgery and without evidence of other liver disease or significant alcohol use underwent intraoperative liver biopsy. Demographic, clinical, and biochemical variables were collected. A scoring model was derived using variables found to be independent predictors of NASH. The scores were divided into four risk categories (low, intermediate, high, and very high). Positive and negative predictive values (PPV/NPV) were derived for each category and the area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) was calculated. RESULTS: A total of 253 subjects were included: 52 (20.6%) had NASH, 116 (45.8%) had simple steatosis, and 85 (33.6%) had normal liver histology. Only ten subjects (19% of NASH group) had significant (>or= stage 2) fibrosis. Multivariate analysis identified diabetes, abnormal ALT, and hypertriglyceridemia as independent predictors of NASH. Sleep apnea showed a strong trend toward significance and was also included in the model. This model showed a NPV of 89.7% in the low risk category and a PPV of 75% in the very high risk category, with AUROC of 0.76. CONCLUSIONS: A simple scoring system performs well in predicting NASH and can be used in the clinic to optimize the selection of morbidly obese patients for liver biopsy.

Does primary sclerosing cholangitis impact quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease?

BACKGROUND: Impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important concern in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; ulcerative colitis [UC], Crohn's disease [CD]). Between 2%-10% of patients with IBD have primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). There has been limited examination of the disease-specific HRQoL in this population compared to non-PSC IBD controls. METHODS: This was a retrospective, case-control study performed at a tertiary referral center. Cases comprised 26 patients with a known diagnosis of PSC and IBD (17 UC, 9 CD). Three random controls were selected for each case after matching for IBD type, gender, age, and duration of disease. Disease-specific HRQoL was measured using the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ). Disease activity for CD was measured using the Harvey-Bradshaw index (HB) and using the UC activity index for UC. Independent predictors of HRQoL were identified. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the age, gender distribution, or disease duration between PSC-IBD and controls. There was no difference in use of immunomodulators or biologics between the 2 groups. Mean SIBDQ score was comparable between PSC-IBD patients (54.5) and controls (54.1), both for UC and CD. Likewise, the disease activity scores were also similar (2.8 versus 3.1, P = 0.35). On multivariate analysis, higher disease activity score (-1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 95% CI -1.85 to -0.82) and shorter disease duration were predictive of lower HRQoL. Coexisting PSC did not influence IBD-related HRQoL. There was a higher proportion of permanent work disability in PSC-IBD (7.7%) compared to controls (0%). CONCLUSIONS: PSC does not seem to influence disease-specific HRQoL in our patients with IBD but is associated with a higher rate of work disability.

What is the most effective way to communicate results after endoscopy?

BACKGROUND: The growing demand for endoscopy associated with colorectal cancer screening has resulted in busier endoscopy units and an increase in the practice of open-access endoscopy, in which patients are referred for procedures without prior consultation by the gastroenterologist, all of which may result in less-informed patients. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether providing patients with a written copy of their standard endoscopy report at the conclusion of their procedure enhanced recall of the findings and recommendations. DESIGN: Eighty consecutive outpatients who presented to 3 endoscopists were randomized to receive the results of their upper or lower endoscopy via standard verbal report (VR) or by standard VR followed by receipt of a computer-generated endoscopy report (VR+WR) from the Olympus ImageManager report generator. The endoscopist communicated the VR after a standard postprocedure recovery period of 30 to 60 minutes and routinely discussed all findings and recommendations as mentioned in the WR. The endoscopist was blinded as to whether the patient subsequently received the WR. Recall of the endoscopic procedure was assessed by using a piloted 11-question survey instrument to be filled out 3 days after the procedure. Results were calculated by using the Fisher exact and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. PATIENTS: Referral for endoscopy from University of Chicago physicians. RESULTS: Seventy-eight of 80 patients (98%) approached about the study agreed to participate. The response rate was 77%. Patients in the VR+WR group overall had a greater composite score than patients in the VR group (8.9/10 vs 7.7/10, P<.01). Patients in the VR+WR group were also significantly more likely to recall the recommendations for therapy or follow-up (72% vs 42%, P<.01) and the name of the endoscopist (97% vs 74%, P<.05). LIMITATIONS: Patients with an education beyond the 10th-grade level were not formally accessed in this study. Because of this, we could not evaluate whether differences in educational attainment affected patient understanding of endoscopy procedure details and findings. CONCLUSIONS: A computer-generated endoscopy report (WR) significantly improved patient recall of endoscopic procedure information compared with a VR alone. Despite this, patients were unable to recall 28% of recommendations. Additional study to determine if such enhanced physician-patient communication improves patient satisfaction or follow-up, and whether more specific patient-directed results further improve recall needs to occur.