iBDecide: A web-based tool to promote engagement in shared decision-making among adolescents with ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) seek increased autonomy and self-efficacy. AYAs must learn to manage their medical care in preparation for transition to adult healthcare. Our team's research found that AYAs need more information about their disease and treatment OBJECTIVE: To develop and test the usability of a decision tool "iBDecide" to promote shared decision-making among AYAs with ulcerative colitis (UC) who are beginning to manage their treatment and medications METHODS: Using design thinking, 14 AYAs, 6 healthcare providers, 4 designers, a social worker, and a human factors researcher developed a shared decision-making tool. The System Usability Scale (SUS) assessed usability RESULTS: AYAs preferred an application with information on treatment, medication, nutrition, and symptom tracking. A web-based application, 'iBDecide', was developed to include these options. SUS results indicated that participants on average "agree" that: 'they would use iBDecide' and that 'it was easy to use and streamlined'. The mean SUS score was 78.25 (+/-12.91), range 70-90 DISCUSSION: Including AYAs in tool development helps ensure usability and improves engagement in shared decision-making. Co-designed tools may remove barriers for engagement and skill-building needed for the transition to adult care. CONCLUSION: iBDecide can stimulate AYA engagement in shared decision-making in treating UC.

Review article: applying pharmacokinetics to optimise dosing of anti-TNF biologics in acute severe ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC), the most aggressive presentation of ulcerative colitis (UC), occurs in 15% of adults and children with UC. First line therapy with intravenous corticosteroids is ineffective in half of adults and one-third of children. Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against TNF (anti-TNF therapy) are emerging as a common treatment for ASUC due to their similar efficacy to calcineurin inhibitors and more favourable adverse effect profile. AIM: To comprehensively review the evidence for anti-TNF therapy for ASUC in children and adults with regard to outcomes and pharmacokinetics. METHODS: PubMed and recent conference proceedings were searched using the terms 'ulcerative colitis', 'acute severe ulcerative colitis', 'anti-TNF', 'pharmacokinetics' and the generic names of specific anti-TNF agents. RESULTS: Outcomes after anti-TNF therapy for ASUC remain suboptimal with about one half of children and adults undergoing colectomy. While several randomised controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of anti-TNF therapy for ambulatory patients with moderate to severely active UC, patients in these studies were less ill than those with ASUC. Patients with ASUC may exhibit more rapid clearance of anti-TNF biologics due to pharmacokinetic mechanisms influenced by disease severity. CONCLUSIONS: Conventional weight-based dosing effective in patients with moderately to severely active UC, may not be equally effective in those with acute severe ulcerative colitis. Personalised anti-TNF dosing strategies, which integrate patient factors and early measures of pharmacokinetics and response, hold promise for ensuring sustained drug exposure and maximising early mucosal healing in patients with acute severe ulcerative colitis.

[Heterotopic cystic pancreas as a growing submucous tumor close to the cardia of the stomach]. / Ektopes zystisch verändertes Pankreas als wachsender submuköser Tumor im Kardiabereich.

Ectopic pancreas, presenting as a growing submucosal tumor, is a rarity in stomach surgery. Up to now, only about 250 cases of ectopic pancreas have been described. To our knowledge this is the first report of ectopic pancreas found near the cardia. A 52 year old female patient suffered from unclear upper abdominal distress. Gastroscopy revealed a submucosal growing tumor near the cardia. The tumor was locally exceeded and histologically examined showing ectopic, cystic pancreatic tissue without signs of malignancy. Wound healing was without complications and the patient is now, two years later, free of symptoms. The preoperative diagnosis of ectopic pancreas still is rarely conclusive. Nevertheless, new techniques such as endoscopic sonography or transmucosal biopsies may provide a non-invasive alternative to surgery. However, currently, local excision with intraoperative frozen section still is the therapy of choice.