Inflammatory bowel diseases have a natural course characterized by alternating periods of remission and relapse. Disease flares occur in a random way and are currently unpredictable for the most part. Predictors of be...Inflammatory bowel diseases have a natural course characterized by alternating periods of remission and relapse. Disease flares occur in a random way and are currently unpredictable for the most part. Predictors of benign or unfavourable clinical course are required to facilitate treatment decisions and to avoid overtreatment. The present article provides a literature review of the current evidence on the main clinical, genetic, endoscopic, histologic, serologic and fecal markers to predict aggressiveness of inflammatory bowel disease and discuss their prognostic role, both in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. No single marker seems to be reliable alone as a flare predictor, even in light of promising evidence regarding the role of fecal markers, in particular fecal calprotectin, which has reported good results recently. In order to improve our daily clinical practice, validated prognostic scores should be elaborated, integrating clinical and biological markers of prognosis. Finally, we propose an algorithm considering clinical history and biological markers to intercept patients with high risk of clinical relapse.展开更多
Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease whose pathogenesis involves disturbances of the gastrointestinal microbiota. As the prevalence of CD increases, the need for a more effective and safe treatment ...Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease whose pathogenesis involves disturbances of the gastrointestinal microbiota. As the prevalence of CD increases, the need for a more effective and safe treatment is integral. Probiotics have been reported to be beneficial for numerous gastrointestinal diseases, providing health benefits and considering the microbial characteristics of CD’s pathogenesis. However, our knowledge of the efficacy of probiotic therapy in preventing relapse in CD is limited. How gastroenterologists have incorporated probiotics into their practice or probiotics observed implications for patients with CD has not been assessed. A quantitative survey was distributed to determine how gastroenterologists perceive and use probiotic-based therapies in CD practice. The second objective was to conduct a meta-analysis of the efficacy of probiotics for maintaining remission and preventing clinical and endoscopic relapse in CD. Performing a meta-analysis and survey will examine the role of probiotics in CD treatment. Surveyed gastroenterologists cited that probiotics have an adjunctive role and have been observed to alleviate common CD symptoms. Probiotics seem effective in reducing the relapse rate, specifically those of the multi-strain variety are more likely to be effective in maintaining CD remission. Further research with larger trials is required to replicate and solidify this efficacy. The meta-analysis only assessed the efficacy of probiotics as a maintenance treatment as measured by the risk of relapse;thus, no evidence supports probiotics’ ability to induce remission. The results of the meta-analysis and survey indicate that probiotics cannot treat CD without accompanying conventional drug therapies;nevertheless, independent of treatment capacities, probiotics still yield health benefits for CD patients.展开更多
文摘Inflammatory bowel diseases have a natural course characterized by alternating periods of remission and relapse. Disease flares occur in a random way and are currently unpredictable for the most part. Predictors of benign or unfavourable clinical course are required to facilitate treatment decisions and to avoid overtreatment. The present article provides a literature review of the current evidence on the main clinical, genetic, endoscopic, histologic, serologic and fecal markers to predict aggressiveness of inflammatory bowel disease and discuss their prognostic role, both in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. No single marker seems to be reliable alone as a flare predictor, even in light of promising evidence regarding the role of fecal markers, in particular fecal calprotectin, which has reported good results recently. In order to improve our daily clinical practice, validated prognostic scores should be elaborated, integrating clinical and biological markers of prognosis. Finally, we propose an algorithm considering clinical history and biological markers to intercept patients with high risk of clinical relapse.
文摘Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease whose pathogenesis involves disturbances of the gastrointestinal microbiota. As the prevalence of CD increases, the need for a more effective and safe treatment is integral. Probiotics have been reported to be beneficial for numerous gastrointestinal diseases, providing health benefits and considering the microbial characteristics of CD’s pathogenesis. However, our knowledge of the efficacy of probiotic therapy in preventing relapse in CD is limited. How gastroenterologists have incorporated probiotics into their practice or probiotics observed implications for patients with CD has not been assessed. A quantitative survey was distributed to determine how gastroenterologists perceive and use probiotic-based therapies in CD practice. The second objective was to conduct a meta-analysis of the efficacy of probiotics for maintaining remission and preventing clinical and endoscopic relapse in CD. Performing a meta-analysis and survey will examine the role of probiotics in CD treatment. Surveyed gastroenterologists cited that probiotics have an adjunctive role and have been observed to alleviate common CD symptoms. Probiotics seem effective in reducing the relapse rate, specifically those of the multi-strain variety are more likely to be effective in maintaining CD remission. Further research with larger trials is required to replicate and solidify this efficacy. The meta-analysis only assessed the efficacy of probiotics as a maintenance treatment as measured by the risk of relapse;thus, no evidence supports probiotics’ ability to induce remission. The results of the meta-analysis and survey indicate that probiotics cannot treat CD without accompanying conventional drug therapies;nevertheless, independent of treatment capacities, probiotics still yield health benefits for CD patients.