The clinical significance of biliary findings in magnetic resonance enterography of patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Purpose: Given the association of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), we aimed to investigate the clinical relevance of abnormal hepatobiliary findings on magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) of IBD patients considering the risk of over- or underestimation of PSC at MRE. Material and methods: Using the MRE dataset of patients referring to a tertiary hospital and the National Registry of Crohn’s and Colitis, 69 MREs, including 23 IBD-PSC, 23 IBD-without PSC, and 23 healthy controls (HC), were retrospectively reviewed by 2 experienced radiologists blinded to the clinical data, to evaluate hepatobiliary abnormalities. Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios were calculated. Results: Bile duct irregularities were the most common finding in the IBD-PSC group, with a frequency of 91%. Intra- and extrahepatic bile duct (IHBD and EHBD) irregularities were observed in 87% and 78% of PSC patients, respectively. Higher frequency of IHBD and EHBD wall thickening, bile duct dilation, EHBD stricture, and periportal oedema were observed in the IBD-PSC group. Peribiliary T2-weighted hyperintensities and contrast-enhancement were significantly more common in the IBD-PSC group than in the IBD and HC groups (48% and 35%, respectively) (p < 0.001). Detection of biliary irregularities on MRE had a specificity of 94% (95% CI: 82-99%), a sensitivity of 91% (95% CI: 72-99%), and a positive likelihood ratio of 14.0 (95% CI: 4.7-42.1) for the diagnosis of PSC. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of assessing and reporting hepatobiliary abnormalities visible in the MRE of patients with IBD to avoid a delayed diagnosis of PSC

Doxepin is More Effective than Nortriptyline and Placebo for the Treatment of Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized Triple-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background: The current treatment of IBS is often unsatisfactory and frustrating. Several controlled trials have demonstrated benefits of tricyclic antidepressants for irritable bowel syndrome, especially when pain is a prominent symptom but the efficacy of antidepressants in irritable bowel syndrome is controversial. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of doxepin and nortriptyline on diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.Methods: Seventy-five patients with IBS according to Rome III criteria were treated for two months. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups treated with doxepin, nortriptyline or placebo. Subjects were assessed clinically one month and two months after treatment. The symptoms and adverse effects of the drugs were recorded in the questionnaire. The total score was considered as the number of the symptoms for each patient, which ranged between zero and six.Results: Improvements in abdominal pain and bloating in the doxepin group were significantly higher than the nortriptyline or the placebo groups (P=0.001 and P=0.012, respectively). However, improvement in diarrhea in patients on nortriptyline was significantly higher than the other groups (P=0.018). The average improvement of symptoms in the patients after two months of treatment in doxepin, nortriptyline and placebo groups, respectively were 2.56, 2 and 0.6 (P<0.05).Conclusion: Both doxepin and nortriptyline are effective for the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome in a period of two months but doxepin seems to be more efficacious than nortriptyline in this regard. However, larger comparative trials are suggested