Cross-Sectional Imaging Instead of Colonoscopy in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Lights and Shadows

International guidelines recommend a treat-to-target strategy with a close monitoring of disease activity and therapeutic response in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Colonoscopy (CS) represents the current first-line procedure for evaluating disease activity in IBD. However, as it is expensive, invasive and poorly accepted by patients, CS is not appropriate for frequent and repetitive reassessments of disease activity. Recently, cross-sectional imaging techniques have been increasingly shown as reliable tools for assessing IBD activity. While computed tomography (CT) is hampered by radiation risks, routine implementation of magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) for close monitoring is limited by its costs, low availability and long examination time. Novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based techniques, such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), can overcome some of these weaknesses and have been shown as valuable options for IBD monitoring. Bowel ultrasound (BUS) is a noninvasive, highly available, cheap, and well accepted procedure that has been demonstrated to be as accurate as CS and MRE for assessing and monitoring disease activity in IBD. Furthermore, as BUS can be quickly performed at the point-of-care, it allows for real-time clinical decision making. This review summarizes the current evidence on the use of cross-sectional imaging techniques as cost-effective, noninvasive and reliable alternatives to CS for monitoring patients with IBD

Predictive value of Milan ultrasound criteria in ulcerative colitis: A prospective observational cohort study

Background: Endoscopic healing is an established treatment target for ulcerative colitis (UC). We have recently validated the Milan ultrasound criteria (MUC) to assess endoscopic activity in UC; a MUC score > 6.2 is a valid cut-off to discriminate endoscopic activity (Mayo endoscopic subscore > 1).Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of MUC on disease course in a prospective cohort of UC patients.Methods: UC patients regardless of disease activity and current therapy, underwent colonoscopy and bowel ultrasound (US) at baseline in a blinded fashion. Correlations between baseline MUC and Mayo endoscopic subscore were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation. UC-related negative course (defined as the need for corticosteroids, or treatment escalation, or hospitalization, or need for colectomy: a composite outcome) over a median 20 months follow-up, was investigated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.Results: 98 UC patients were followed up for a median time of 1.6 years (IQR 0.9¬2.7). Milan ultrasound criteria and Mayo endoscopic subscore significantly correlated at baseline (ρ = 0.653; p 6.2 at baseline was statistically significantly associated with negative disease course (HR: 3.87, 95% CI: 2.25-6.64, p 6.2 (p < 0.05 for all outcomes).Conclusion: we have demonstrated for the first time the value of bowel US and an US score in predicting disease course in UC. Milan ultrasound criteria, a validated US-based score, predicts disease course in UC. Milan ultrasound criteria ≤ 6.2 may be the new treatment target to achieve to reduce the risk of worse outcomes

Underwater EMR for colorectal lesions: a systematic review with meta-analysis (with video)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Underwater EMR is an alternative way to have nonpedunculated colorectal lesions lifted before being resected. The endoscopist takes advantage of the behavior of mucosal lesions floating away from the muscular layer, once immersed in liquid. We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this technique. METHODS: Electronic databases (Medline, Scopus, EMBASE) were searched up to May 2018. Full articles including patients with colorectal lesions resected by the underwater EMR technique were eligible. The complete resection (primary outcome), en bloc resection, recurrence, and adverse event rates were pooled by means of a random or fixed-effect model. RESULTS: Ten studies were eligible, providing data on 508 lesions removed from 433 patients (male/female = 239/194; mean age range 62.2-75.0 years). Six studies were performed in the United States and the other in Europe; 7 studies were prospective. The specific indications for performing underwater EMR varied widely across studies. The complete resection rate was 96.36% (95% confidence interval [CI], 91.77-98.44), with a rate of en bloc resection of 57.07% (95% CI, 43.20%-69.91%). The recurrence rate was 8.82% (95% CI, 5.78-13.25) in a mean endoscopy surveillance period of 7.7 months (range 4-15 months). The postprocedural bleeding rate was 2.85% (95% CI, 1.64-4.90). Bleeding during the procedure was always mild and was considered as part of the procedure in all series. The overall adverse event rate was 3.31% (95% CI, 1.97%-5.52%). No cases of perforation were reported. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this systematic review, underwater EMR appears to be an effective and extremely safe technique for resecting nonpolypoid colorectal lesions

Risk factors and clinical outcomes of endoscopic dilation in benign esophageal strictures: a long-term follow-up study

Background and Aims: Endoscopic dilation (ED) is still the mainstay of therapeutic management of benign esophageal strictures (BESs). This study aimed to establish risk factors for refractory BESs and assess long-term clinical outcomes of ED. Methods: We performed a retrospective study in 891 patients who underwent ED from 2003 to 2018 for BESs. We searched electronic medical records in 6 tertiary care centers in the Netherlands for data on clinical outcome of ED. Median follow-up was 39 months. The primary endpoint was risk factors for refractory BESs, defined as factors associated with an increased number of ED sessions during follow-up. Secondary endpoints were time from first to last ED session and adverse events. Results: Dilation up to 13 to 15 mm was associated with a higher number of ED sessions than dilation up to 16 to 18 mm (5.0 vs 4.1; hazard ratio [HR], 1.4; P = .001). Compared with peptic strictures, anastomotic (4.9 vs 3.6; HR, 2.1; P < .001), radiation (5.0 vs 3.6; HR, 3.0; P < .001), caustic (7.2 vs 3.6; HR, 2.7; P < .001), and postendotherapy (3.9 vs 3.6; HR, 1.8; P = .005) strictures were associated with a higher number of ED sessions. After 1 year of follow-up, the proportions of patients who remained free of ED was 75% in anastomotic, 71% in radiation, 70% in peptic, 83% in postendotherapy, and 62% in caustic strictures. Esophageal perforation occurred in 23 ED sessions (.4%) in 22 patients (2.4%). Conclusions: More than 60% of patients with BESs remain free of ED after 1 year of follow-up. Because dilation up to 16 to 18 mm diameter was associated with fewer ED sessions during follow-up, we suggest that clinicians should consider dilation up to at least 16 mm to reduce the number of ED sessions in these patients