Update on the role of Rifaximin in digestive diseases

© Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Various environmental factors affecting the human microbiota may lead to gut microbial imbalance and to the development of pathologies. Alterations of gut microbiota have been firmly implicated in digestive diseases such as hepatic encephalopathy, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease. However, while these three conditions may all be related to dysfunction of the gut-liver-brain axis, the precise pathophysiology appears to differ somewhat for each. Herein, current knowledge on the pathophysiology of hepatic encephalopathy, irritable bowel syndrome, and diverticular disease are reviewed, with a special focus on the gut microbiota modulation associated with these disorders during therapy with rifaximin. In general, the evidence for the efficacy of rifaximin in hepatic encephalopathy appears to be well consolidated, although it is less supported for irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease. We reviewed current clinical practice for the management of these clinical conditions and underlined the desirability of more real-world studies to fully understand the potential of rifaximin in these clinical situations and obtain even more precise indications for the use of the drug.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Frequency of axial spondyloarthritis in Tunisian patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

Aim of the work: To determine the frequency, clinical and radiological features of axial spondyloarthritis in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and to characterize differences between patients with and without axial spondyloarthritis. Patients and Methods: Patients included in this cross-sectional study were recruited from the Gastroenterology Department, University of Tunisia over six months. Sixty-four patients with IBD were questioned and examined for axial spondyloarthritis symptoms. Standard pelvic X-rays were performed for all and CT scans and MRI were done for some patients. Results: There were 42 men (65.6%) and 22 women (34.4%) with a mean age of 47 ± 22 years. 32 patients (50%) had Crohn’s disease, 31 had ulcerative colitis and 1 patient has undifferentiated colitis. The disease was confined to the colon among a half of patients with ulcerative colitis. Regarding Crohn’s disease, all lesions were confined to the ileum and the colon. The mean IBD duration was 6.18±7.2 years. The occurrence of axial spondyloarthritis was 26.5% (17 patients who were symptomatic in 16 cases). The bowel disease preceded rheumatic manifestations in all cases. Nine patients (14.1%) had isolated sacroiliitis. The patients with and without axial spondyloarthritis had similar sociodemographic, anthropometric characteristics, comorbidities and bowel disease particularities except a higher percentage of corticosteroids use (p = .013). Conclusions: Due to the high frequency, an early diagnosis of spondyloarthritis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease by thorough clinical exam and standard pelvic X-rays should be recommended. Keywords: Axial spondyloarthritis, Inflammatory bowel disease, Sacroiliiti

A rare cause of spontaneous hemoperitoneum: intra-abdominal vein rupture

Aim: Ruptures of the intra-abdominal vein causing a spontaneous hemoperitoneum in cirrhotic patients is a rare condition. However, diagnosis must be considered early in cirrhotic patients with hematic ascites as a delayed diagnosis with hemodynamic instability is associated with a poor prognosis. Case report: We present the case of a 54-year-old cirrhotic patient who presented a spontaneous hemoperitoneum due to the rupture of the intra-abdominal vein that was diagnosed during exploratory laparoscopy. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and management of spontaneous hemoperitoneum due to the rupture of intra-abdominal vein helps improve its prognosis

Synchronous primary gastric and renal tumors: a case report

Synchronous multiple primary cancers of the stomach and kidney are very rare, only 45 cases of synchronous multiple primary cancers of the stomach and kidney had been reported in the literature up until 2020. Thus far, no particular risk factors have been identified. We present a case of synchronous multiple primary cancers of the stomach and kidney in a 67-year-old female presenting with a 3-month history of vomiting and abdominal pain. The diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells was confirmed through upper endoscopy with biopsies, while CT-guided biopsies of the renal tumor confirmed the diagnosis of primary kidney neoplasm