Comparative analysis of adverse events between infliximab and adalimumab in Crohn's disease management: a Brazilian single-centre experience

AbstractIntroductionData is scarce regarding adverse events (AE) of biological therapy used in the management of Crohn's Disease (CD) among Brazilian patients.ObjectivesTo analyse AE prevalence and profile in patients with CD treated with Infliximab (IFX) or Adalimumab (ADA) and to verify whether there are differences between the two drugs.MethodRetrospective observational single-centre study of CD patients on biological therapy. Variables analysed: Demographic data, Montreal classification, biological agent adminis- tered, treatment duration, presence and type of AE and the need for treatment interruption.ResultsForty-nine patients were analysed, 25 treated with ADA and 24 with IFX. The groups were homogeneous in relation to the variables studied. The average follow-up period for the group treated with ADA was 19.3 months and 21.8 months for the IFX group (p = 0.585). Overall, 40% (n = 10) of patients taking ADA had AE compared with 50% (n = 12) of IFX users (p = 0.571). There was a tendency towards higher incidence of cutaneous and infusion reac- tions in the IFX group and higher incidence of infections in the ADA treated group, although without significant difference.ConclusionsNo difference was found in the AE prevalence and profile between ADA and IFX CD patients in the population studied

Human fibrinogen and thrombin patch for extraluminal protection of intestinal anastomosis

AbstractIn spite of recent advances regarding equipment and surgical techniques in colorectal surgery, rates of anastomotic dehiscence (AD) have remained stable throughout the years. The development of products to protect anastomosis aiming the reduction of AD rates has shown to be promising. Human fibrinogen and thrombin patch (HFTP Tachosil®) have been used in experimental studies in animals and small case series in humans, with promising results. In this study, the authors describe the technique of HFTP use in details, aiming the protection of colorectal anastomosis, and retrospectively demonstrate the preliminary results in a pilot case series. HFTP was used in 4 patients submitted to conventional surgery. The procedures performed were: left colon resection, segmental colectomy (both for colorectal cancer), enteral anastomosis for fistula closure and right ileocolectomy. Anastomotic healing and absence of complications were observed in 3 patients, and the patient submitted to right ileocolectomy developed AD and died after reoperation. The use of HFTP is safe and can be indicated in selected cases. However, AD can occur even after the use of this strategy. Randomized controlled trials with larger samples of patients are needed in order to properly define the real benefits of this strategy in dehiscence preventio

O compositor em espaço cénico: estudo de alguns processos correlacionais

A presente dissertação surge no contexto da criação artística musical e pretende abranger um campo de possibilidades na exploração das relações entre os processos de composição musical e a experiência artística conduzida a partir da criação musical para as outras artes, recorrendo para tal à produção de conhecimento de significativa importância para mim no processo de coesão e competência artísticas. No contexto de processos relacionais múltiplos, é pretendido questionar dentro da criação musical, o limiar da ação ao nível do espaço, do movimento e do visual, em interligação com, entre outros, o instrumentista, o ator e o autor. Coloca-se assim em perspetiva o binómio da realidade espacial e do mundo visual, duas componentes em correlação musical. Numa atitude expansível de conhecimento e que em nada deveria ser fragmentária, como compositor, ao encontro dos meus interesses sobre a performance artística, é imperativo perceber a minha prática que coloca todas estas condicionantes em discussão, à emergência de um caminho confrontado com outros anteriormente percorridos.This thesis emerges in the context of musical and artistic creation with the intent to cover a field of possibilities for the exploration of the relationships between the processes of musical composition and artistic experience, driven from the musical creation to the other arts, producing knowledge of significant importance to me in the process of cohesion and artistic competence. In the context of multiple relational processes is intended to question the music creation, the threshold of the action in some levels like space, movement and visual, while related to, among others, the instrumentalist, the actor and author. This raises the binomial prospective of the reality space and the visual world, two components in musical correlation. With an attitude of expandable knowledge, where nothing should be fragmentary, as a composer, on the encounter to meet my interests on the artistic performance, it is imperative to understand my practice that put all these conditions under discussion

Conventional Versus Biological Therapy for Prevention of Postoperative Endoscopic Recurrence in Patients With Crohn's Disease: an International, Multicenter, and Observational Study

Background/AimsPostoperative endoscopic recurrence (PER) occurs in nearly 80% of patients 1 year after ileocecal resection in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Biological agents were more effective in reducing the rates of PER in comparison with conventional therapy, in prospective trials. The aim of this study was to compare the PER rates of biological versus conventional therapy after ileocecal resections in patients with CD in real-world practice.MethodsThe MULTIPER (Multicenter International Postoperative Endoscopic Recurrence) database is a retrospective analysis of PER rates in CD patients after ileocecal resection, from 7 referral centers in 3 different countries. All consecutive patients who underwent ileocecal resections between 2008 and 2012 and in whom colonoscopies had been performed up to 12 months after surgery, were included. Recurrence was defined as Rutgeerts' score ≥i2. The patients were allocated to either biological or conventional therapy after surgery, and PER rates were compared between the groups.ResultsInitially, 231 patients were evaluated, and 63 were excluded. Of the 168 patients in the database, 96 received anti-tumor necrosis factor agents and 72 were treated with conventional therapy after resection. The groups were comparable regarding age, gender, and perianal disease. There was longer disease duration, more previous resections, and more open surgical procedures in patients on biologicals postoperatively. PER was identified in 25/96 (26%) patients on biological therapy and in 24/72 (33.3%) patients on conventional therapy (P=0.310).ConclusionsIn this retrospective observational analysis from an international database, no difference was observed between biological and conventional therapy in preventing PER after ileocecal resections in CD patients

Hypoalbuminemia as a risk factor for thromboembolic events in inflammatory bowel disease inpatients

Background/Aims Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are chronic entities characterized by local and systemic inflammation and may be associated with thrombosis. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of thromboembolic events (TEE) in hospitalized IBD patients and identify risk factors for their occurrence. Methods This retrospective, single-center study included patients treated at a Brazilian IBD referral unit between 2004 and 2014. Patients hospitalized for more than 48 hours due to active IBD and who did not receive prophylaxis for TEE during hospitalization were included. Patients were allocated to 2 groups: those with TEE up to 30 days or at the time of hospitalization (TEE-group) and patients without TEE (control-group). Clinical and laboratory characteristics were evaluated. Results Of 53 patients evaluated, 69,8% with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 30.2% with ulcerative colitis (UC). The prevalence of TEE 30 days before or during hospitalization was 15.1%, with 10.8% in CD and 25% in UC. In the TEE group, mean serum albumin was 2.06 g/dL versus 3.30 g/dL in the control group. Patients with albumin levels below 2.95 g/dL (43.18%) had a higher risk of developing TEE (relative risk, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 1.17–2.53) (P<0.001). Conclusions Albumin levels were significantly lower in patients with TEE, and hypoalbuminemia was considered a risk factor for the development of TEE in this population