Retrospective Single Center Study of Granulocyte Monocyte Adsorption Apheresis Treatment in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have elevated and activated myeloid leukocytes, which infiltrate the intestinal mucosa. A significant proportion of IBD patients do not respond adequately to conventional treatment regimes. Studies have suggested that treatment with granulocyte monocyte apheresis (GMA) could be a safe and efficacious alternative for these patients. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of granulocyte/monocyte apheresis in patients with IBD in a retrospective cohort study, conducted from a single center in Stockholm. Clinical details from consecutive apheresis treated patients were retrospectively reviewed from 2004 to 2012. A total of 37 patients were included, 23 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 14 with Crohn's disease (CD). Clinical response was seen in 11 patients (30%) and complete remission in 11 patients (30%). The remission rate was higher in UC patients compared to CD patients, 39% (N = 9) and 14% (N = 2) respectively. A total of 9 patients experienced adverse events. Most frequently reported was headache (N = 4). GMA seems to be a valuable adjuvant treatment regime in the care of patients with refractory IBD.

Assessment of drug treatment quality in two Danish health-care centres.

INTRODUCTION: Bridging the primary and secondary sector, health-care centres aim to reduce morbidity and prevent further hospitalization in patients with chronic heart diseases. The aim of this study was to describe the quality of drug treatment in patients with chronic heart diseases in two Copenhagen health-care centres. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over a period of three months, 28 patients with heart failure (HF) or ischaemic heart disease (IHD) were included. The participants were interviewed and clinically examined. RESULTS: The patients received an average of nine drugs, and only about one third were clinically well-treated. Among IHD patients, 74% received beta blockers and 64% angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitors (ACE-I) as indicated. All received statins and 92% acetylsalicylic acid. Among HF patients, 67% received ACE-I, 87% beta blockers and 77% diuretics as indicated. Overall, 10%, 31% and 40% of the HF patients received smaller than recommended doses of ACE-I, beta blockers, and diuretics, respectively. In 68% of the patients, 35 potential drug interactions were identified, none of which were deemed potentially harmful. CONCLUSION: This small descriptive study indicates that patients in health-care centres might be undertreated and receive drug therapy only partly in accordance with the guidelines. However, since we had no access to medical charts, any reasons for not treating patients with a certain drug or selecting a lower than recommended dose could not be evaluated. Nevertheless, patients may benefit from closer involvement of clinicians or GPs in the multidisciplinary teams of the health-care centres.