Microscopic colitis in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease: a retrospective observational study and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: Onset of microscopic colitis (MC) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD), or vice versa, has been reported occasionally but the subject is not well described. We therefore report a retrospective observational study of such patients and review the literature. METHODS: Forty-six Swedish gastroenterology clinics were contacted about patients with diagnoses of both inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and MC. Publications were searched on PubMed. RESULTS: We identified 31 patients with onset of MC after a median (range) of 20 (2-52) years after diagnosis of IBD, or vice versa; 21 UC patients developed collagenous colitis (CC) (n = 16) or lymphocytic colitis (LC) (n = 5); nine CD patients developed CC (n = 5) or LC (n = 4); one CC patient developed CD. Of the 21 UC patients, 18 had extensive disease, whereas no consistent phenotype occurred in CD. Literature review revealed 27 comprehensive case reports of patients with diagnoses of both IBD and MC. Thirteen MC patients developed IBD, of which four required colectomy. Fourteen IBD patients later developed MC. There were incomplete clinical data in 115 additional reported patients. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether 173 patients with occurrence of both IBD and MC were found. The most common finding in our patients was onset of CC in a patient with UC. Although these are likely random associations of two different disorders, MC should be considered in the patient with UC or CD if there is onset of chronic watery diarrhoea without endoscopic relapse of IBD.

Low-dose budesonide for maintenance of clinical remission in collagenous colitis: a randomised, placebo-controlled, 12-month trial.

OBJECTIVE: This 1-year study aimed to assess low-dose budesonide therapy for maintenance of clinical remission in patients with collagenous colitis. DESIGN: A prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled study beginning with an 8-week open-label induction phase in which patients with histologically confirmed active collagenous colitis received budesonide (Budenofalk, 9 mg/day initially, tapered to 4.5 mg/day), after which 92 patients in clinical remission were randomised to budesonide (mean dose 4.5 mg/day; Budenofalk 3 mg capsules, two or one capsule on alternate days) or placebo in a 12-month double-blind phase with 6 months treatment-free follow-up. Primary endpoint was clinical remission throughout the double-blind phase. RESULTS: Clinical remission during open-label treatment was achieved by 84.5% (93/110 patients). The median time to remission was 10.5 days (95% CI (9.0 to 14.0 days)). The maintenance of clinical remission at 1 year was achieved by 61.4% (27/44 patients) in the budesonide group versus 16.7% (8/48 patients) receiving placebo (treatment difference 44.5% in favour of budesonide; 95% CI (26.9% to 62.7%), p<0.001). Health-related quality of life was maintained during the 12-month double-blind phase in budesonide-treated patients. During treatment-free follow-up, 82.1% (23/28 patients) formerly receiving budesonide relapsed after study drug discontinuation. Low-dose budesonide over 1 year resulted in few suspected adverse drug reactions (7/44 patients), all non-serious. CONCLUSIONS: Budesonide at a mean dose of 4.5 mg/day maintained clinical remission for at least 1 year in the majority of patients with collagenous colitis and preserved health-related quality of life without safety concerns. Treatment extension with low-dose budesonide beyond 1 year may be beneficial given the high relapse rate after budesonide discontinuation. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01278082) and http://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu (EudraCT: 2007-001315-31).

Increased risk of colorectal cancer and dysplasia in patients with Crohn's colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

BACKGROUND: Almost 10% of all patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis receive a diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Clinical characteristics and the risk of colon cancer or dysplasia in Crohn's disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis are less well examined than in ulcerative colitis. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and risk of colorectal dysplasia and cancer in Crohn's disease in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. DESIGN: This is a cohort study of all patients diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis and colorectal Crohn's disease at Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 1978 to 2006. Each patient was matched for age and the onset of Crohn's disease to 2 controls with colorectal Crohn's disease without liver disease. SETTING: This study was conducted at a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight patients (61% male) with primary sclerosing cholangitis and Crohn's disease and 46 patients (50% male) with Crohn's disease alone were studied. Clinical and endoscopic data were retrieved from medical records. Colonic biopsies from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis were re-reviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measured was the proportion of patients developing colorectal cancer. RESULTS: Colorectal cancer or dysplasia developed in 9 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and in 3 controls. Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis were more likely to develop colorectal dysplasia or cancer than controls (OR 6.78; 95% CI (1.65-27.9); P = .016). In patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis compared with controls, perianal fistulas occurred in 3% vs 33% (P = .003), bowel strictures occurred in 7% vs 30% (P = .03), and bowel surgery was performed in 18% vs 46% (P = .01). Histological granulomas were seen in 29% of the patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis compared with 43% in controls (P = not significant). LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its retrospective nature and the limited cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer and dysplasia in Crohn's disease. Obstructing disease and perianal fistulas are rare in primary sclerosing cholangitis and less common than in colonic Crohn's disease without liver disease.

Decreasing time-trends of colorectal cancer in a large cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). There have been marked changes in the management and treatment of IBD over the past decades, but little is known about how these changes have impacted morbidity and mortality (time trends in risk) of CRC in patients with IBD. METHODS: We assessed cancer occurrence and mortality in a large population-based cohort of patients with IBD who were diagnosed from 1954 to 1989 (n = 7607). Through register links, we collected data on vital status of all registered cases of CRC, as well as intestinal surgeries and mortalities from CRC through 2004. Relative risks for CRC incidence and mortality, by calendar period of follow-up evaluation, were assessed within the cohort (using Poisson regression and taking age, sex, extent of IBD, and time since IBD diagnosis into account) and also compared with the general population using standardized incidence and mortality ratios. RESULTS: During 198,227 person-years of follow-up evaluation for the 7607 patients with IBD, 188 new cases of CRC were observed (crude incidence, 95 per 100,000; 95% confidence interval, 82-109); 92 deaths from CRC were registered. Within the IBD cohort, as well as vs the general population, the incidence of CRC showed a tendency towards a decline whereas the mortality from CRC decreased several-fold from the 1960s through 2004. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past 35 years, the risk of diagnosis of CRC in patients with IBD has not declined significantly, but the risk of dying of CRC has decreased substantially.

Inflammatory bowel disease-related lesions in the duodenal and gastric mucosa.

OBJECTIVE: In 10-15% of patients with colorectal inflammatory bowel disease it is not possible to determine whether they have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and they are therefore classified as having inflammatory bowel disease unclassified (IBDU) (formerly referred to as "indeterminate colitis"). The aim of this study was to determine whether upper endoscopy with biopsies could be a useful tool for diagnosing patients with colorectal inflammatory disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-two patients (14 colorectal Crohn's disease, 19 ulcerative colitis, 6 IBDU, 8 microscopic colitis and 5 without IBD) were examined by upper endoscopy. Biopsies from gastric and duodenal mucosa were examined histologically and the frequency of focal cryptitides was estimated. Helicobacter pylori-positive patients were excluded. RESULTS: Focal cryptitides (sometimes called focally enhanced gastritis) were found in 8/14 of patients with Crohn's disease, 4/19 patients with ulcerative colitis, 2/6 patients with IBDU, 2/8 of patients with microscopic colitis and in 2/5 patients without IBD. CONCLUSIONS: Focal cryptitides are more commonly found in gastric and/or duodenal mucosa in patients with colorectal Crohn's disease than in other patients. Upper endoscopy with mucosal biopsies contributes towards a diagnosis in patients with colitis.

Effects of a supplementary diet with specially processed cereals in patients with short bowel syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Short bowel syndrome patients frequently experience impaired health-related quality of life. This syndrome is also associated with increased costs for the individuals concerned and the community. Intake of specially processed cereals has been demonstrated to decrease intestinal secretion. This study evaluates the effect of a supplementary diet with specially processed cereals compared with nonprocessed cereals. METHODS: This investigation is a randomized double-blind, cross-over multicentre prospective study of 26 intestinal resected out patients, considered as short bowel syndrome patients. The patients were divided into groups A or B, in accordance with the first allocated treatment. Subgroup analyses of the underlying diagnoses and type of surgical procedure were performed. The studied parameters were faecal volume, nocturnal stools, abdominal pain/discomfort, health-related quality of life, peripheral blood tests and anthropometric data. RESULTS: In both groups, intake of nonprocessed cereals significantly decreased the faecal volume. The subgroup analyses of patients with a history of ulcerative colitis (compared with Crohn's disease) and nonileostomy-operated procedure (compared with ileostomi-operated procedure) showed significantly decreased faecal volume during nonprocessed cereals intake. Peripheral blood tests, quality of life and anthropometry were not affected. CONCLUSION: In this study, nonprocessed cereals seemed to be as effective as specially processed cereals in decreasing faecal volume in general and especially in ulcerative colitis patients (mainly operated with nonileostomy techniques). Our results indicate that use of supplementary cereals is safe for this group of patients, but should optimally include evaluation of the underlying diagnosis and the surgical method used.

Gallbladder bile composition in patients with Crohn 's disease.

AIM: To further elucidate the pathogenesis and mechanisms of the high risk of gallstone formation in Crohn's disease. METHODS: Gallbladder bile was obtained from patients with Crohn's disease who were admitted for elective surgery (17 with ileal/ileocolonic disease and 7 with Crohn's colitis). Fourteen gallstone patients served as controls. Duodenal bile was obtained from ten healthy subjects before and after the treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid. Bile was analyzed for biliary lipids, bile acids, bilirubin, crystals, and crystal detection time (CDT). Cholesterol saturation index was calculated. RESULTS: The biliary concentration of bilirubin was about 50% higher in patients with Crohn's disease than in patients with cholesterol gallstones. Ten of the patients with Crohn's disease involving ileum and three of those with Crohn's colitis had cholesterol saturated bile. Four patients with ileal disease and one of those with colonic disease displayed cholesterol crystals in their bile. About 1/3 of the patients with Crohn's disease had a short CDT. Treatment of healthy subjects with ursodeoxycholic acid did not increase the concentration of bilirubin in duodenal bile. Several patients with Crohn's disease, with or without ileal resection/disease had gallbladder bile supersaturated with cholesterol and short CDT and contained cholesterol crystals. The biliary concentration of bilirubin was also increased in patients with Crohn's colitis probably not due to bile acid malabsorption. CONCLUSION: Several factors may be of importance for the high risk of developing gallstones of both cholesterol and pigment types in patients with Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease in Stockholm County during 1990-2001: an epidemiological update.

AIM: To further assess of the incidence and localization of Crohn's disease (CD) in a well-defined population during the 1990s and to evaluate the prevalence of CD on the 1st of January 2002. METHODS: In a retrospective population based study, all 16-90 years old citizens of Stockholm County diagnosed as having CD according to Lennard Jones' criteria between 1990 and 2001 were included. Case identification was made by using computerized inpatient and outpatient registers. Moreover private gastroenterologists were asked for possible cases. The extent of the disease and the frequency of anorectal fistulae were determined as were the ages at diagnosis. Further, the prevalence of CD on the 1(st) of January 2002 was assessed. RESULTS: All the 1 389 patients, 689 men and 700 women, fulfilled the criteria for CD. The mean incidence rate for the whole period was 8.3 per 10(5) (95%CI 7.9 -8.8). There was no difference between the genders. The mean annual incidence of the whole study period for colorectal disease and ileocecal disease, was 4.4 (95%CI 4.0-4.7) and 2.4 (95%CI 2.1-2.6) per 10(5), respectively. Perianal disease occurred in 13.7% (95%CI 11.9-15.7 %) of the patients. The prevalence of CD was 213 per 100,000 inhabitants. CONCLUSION: The incidence of CD has markedly increased during the last decade in Stockholm County and 0.2% of the population suffers from CD. The increase is attributed to a further increase of colorectal disease, while the incidence of ileocecal disease has remained stable.