Bowel preparation prior to colonoscopy with a new colonic irrigation device: Results of a prospective observational study.

Background and study aims The success of colonoscopy is mainly dependent on the effectiveness of prior bowel preparation (BP). Patients often consider BP to be the most burdensome part of colonoscopy, which might be a main barrier to the procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate safety and effectiveness of colonic irrigation with a new colon hydrotherapy (CHT) device as an alternative to traditional oral BP. Patients and methods A prospective, non-randomized observational study was conducted to evaluate the quality of BP. A BP was considered effective if a score of 6 or better through the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) could be reached. Colonoscopy was performed immediately following colonic irrigation. For safety analysis, data on adverse events (AEs) were collected. Among the secondary outcomes, the BBPS assessed in each bowel segment and cecal intubation rate were analyzed. Results Twenty-eight consecutive patients (11 male [39.3%] and 17 [60.7 %] female) undergoing screening/surveillance or diagnostic colonoscopy were enrolled. Mean age was 54 ±â€Š12.4 years (range 19-80). The evaluated mean BBPS was 7.8 ±â€Š1.5. Twenty-five patients (89.3 %) had a BBPS score of 6 or above. Colonic irrigation was performed without any complications and no AEs were reported within 30 days. The cecal intubation rate was 100 %. Conclusions Colonic irrigation with a new CHT device is an effective and low-risk alternative to traditional oral preparation prior to colonoscopy.

The detection of the cytomegalovirus DNA in the colonic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis is associated with increased long-term risk of proctocolectomy: results from an outpatient IBD clinic.

PURPOSE: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been found to be associated with a reactivation of ulcerative colitis (UC) and with an impaired response to medical therapy. In the past, only limited data were available on the long-term outcome for UC patients with positive tissue CMV-PCR in the colonic mucosa. METHODS: Between January 2010 and April 2015, we performed a qualitative PCR screening for CMV DNA in one biopsy from most actively inflamed rectal mucosa (tCMV-PCR). All tCMV-PCR-positive patients received 900 mg of valganciclovir b.i.d. for at least 15 days. We analyzed the association of the tCMV-PCR status with the time to steroid-free remission (SFR) and with the risk of proctocolectomy during the further course. RESULTS: One hundred eight consecutive patients (50 women, 58 men, median age 41 years, median UC duration 6 years) with active UC not responding to anti-inflammatory medication were analyzed. Eight of the 24 tCMV-PCR-positive patients (33.3%) compared to ten of the 84 tCMV-PCR-negative patients (11.9%) underwent proctocolectomy during a median follow-up of 52 months (p < 0.005). The median time from CMV diagnosis to colectomy was 501 days (median, interquartile range (IQR): 170, 902 days) in tCMV-PCR-positive and 958 days (IQR: 287, 1328 days) in tCMV-PCR-negative patients (p < 0.01). The median time to SFR was 126 days in tCMV-PCR-positive patients vs. 63 days in tCMV-PCR-negative patients (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The detection of the CMV DNA in the colonic mucosa of patients with active UC is associated with a longer time to steroid-free UC remission and with an increased rate and earlier need of proctocolectomy.

Sequential combination therapy of HBe antigen-negative/virus-DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B with famciclovir or lamivudine and interferon-alpha-2a.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatitis B e antigen-negative/hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHBe-) exhibits a high relapse rate on monotherapy with lamivudine or interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). We investigated, whether sequential therapy with famciclovir or lamivudine followed by combination with IFN-alpha-2a improves durable virologic response in CHBe- characterized by mutation analysis of the HBV precore genome region. METHODS: Fourteen patients were treated with famciclovir (n=3) or lamivudine for 4 weeks to reduce the viral load, and subsequently with the combination of the nucleoside analogue and IFN-alpha-2a until 16 weeks beyond the loss of serum HBV-DNA. RESULTS: Median duration of therapy was 29.0 weeks (range 20.6-48.3 weeks). Serum HBV-DNA was undetectable and alanine aminotransferase had normalized in all patients at the end of treatment. Seven (50%) patients maintained a sustained response 12 months after end of treatment. Only two of them had been infected by HBV with the G1896A mutation. Most patients (5/7) with the G1896A mutation relapsed within 4 months after therapy. CONCLUSION: Sequential combination therapy can induce sustained virologic response in a subgroup of CHBe-, but most with the G1896A precore mutant HBV relapse. Trials of CHBe- should be based on characterization of HBV mutants.