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Introduction Faecal calprotectin [FC] is a reliable surrogate marker for disease activity in ulcerative colitis [UC]; however, there are no consensus cut-off values for remission. The study aim was to correlate FC with Mayo Endoscopic Score [MES] and histological disease activity of UC patients in clinical remission. Methods Our study recruited adult UC patients at the McGill IBD Center between 2013 and 2017. Patients in clinical remission [partial Mayo score ≤2], undergoing endoscopy for disease activity or dysplasia surveillance, were enrolled. Before bowel preparation, FC was collected. MES was documented during colonoscopy. Biopsies were taken; histological activity was assessed using Geboes score and the presence of basal plasmacytosis. Results A total of 185 patients were recruited. The area under the curve [AUC] in receiver operating characteristic [ROC] analysis to predict MES 1–3 [from 0] was 0.743 [95% CI 0.67–0.82; p <0.001] with an FC cut-off value 170 µg/g [64% sensitivity, 74% specificity], and to predict MES 2–3 [from 0–1] was 0.722 [95% CI 0.61–0.83; p <0.001] with an FC cut-off value 170 µg/g [69% sensitivity, 65% specificity]. To differentiate MES 0 from MES 1, an FC value 130 µg/g yields a 70% sensitivity and 68% specificity. The AUC in ROC analysis to predict Geboes <3.1 was 0.627 [95% CI 0.55–0.71; p = 0.003], with an FC value 135 µg/g [54% sensitivity, 69% specificity]. Conclusions In this large study, FC ≥170 µg/g predicts endoscopic activity and FC ≥135 µg/g predicts histological activity. Therefore in clinical practice, lower faecal calprotectin thresholds can be chosen to optimise identification of patients with ongoing endoscopic and histological disease activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Ustekinumab [UST] is effective in the treatment of adults with moderate to severe Crohn's disease [CD]. There is a paucity of data on its use in children. Aim To evaluate the response to UST in children with moderate to severe CD. Methods This multicentre retrospective cohort study identified children under 18 years old with CD, who received open-labelled subcutaneous UST. The primary outcome was changes in mean abbreviated Paediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index [aPCDAI] between baseline and 3 and 12 months, and rate of clinical remission at 3 and 12 months. Secondary outcomes were clinical response at the same time points, changes in C-reactive protein [CRP] and albumin, improvement in growth parameters, and rate of adverse events. Results A total of 44 patients who failed at least one biological treatment were identified. Linear mixed model [LMM] analysis revealed a statistically significant effect of UST (χ2[1] = 42.7, p = 1.2 × 10–8) which lowered the aPCDAI scores by about 16 ± 2.7 at 3 months, and 19.6 ± 2.9 at 12 months. At 12 months, 38.6% of the patients achieved clinical remission and 47.8% achieved clinical response. There was a significant increase in mean weight z-score of 0.48 [±0.13] [ p <0.001] and in mean body mass index [BMI] z score of 0.66 [±0.16] [ p <0.001]. The probability of remaining on UST at 12 months was 76.9%. The rate of adverse events was 12.4 per 1000 patient-months. Conclusions Subcutaneous UST should be considered a viable therapeutic option for paediatric patients who are refractory to other biological agents. Prospective randomised trials are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, autoimmune, gastrointestinal disorder. Canada has one of the highest prevalence and incidence rates of IBD in the world. Diagnosis is challenging due to the similarity of symptoms to functional gastrointestinal disorders. Faecalcalprotectin (FC) is a biomarker for active mucosal inflammation and has proven effective in the diagnosis of IBD. Our study objective was to assess the cost-effectiveness of adding an FC test compared with standard practice (blood test) in primary care among adult patients presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. Design We constructed a decision analytic tree with a 1-year time horizon. The cut-off level of 100 µg/g was used for FC testing. Probabilistic analyses were conducted for the base case and all scenarios. Setting Canadian health sector perspective. Population A hypothetical cohort of adult patients presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms in the primary care setting. Interventions FC test compared with blood test. Main outcome measures Costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of FC test expressed as cost per QALY gained compared with blood test and time to IBD diagnosis. Results FC testing is expected to cost more ($C295.1 vs $C273.9) than standard practice but yield little higher QALY (0.751vs0.750). The ICER of FC test was $C20 323 per QALY. Probabilistic analysis demonstrated that at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $C50 000 per QALY, there was 81.3% probability of FC test being cost-effective. The use of FC test in primary care reduced the time to IBD diagnosis by 40.0 days (95% CI 16.3 to 65.3 days), compared with blood testing alone. Conclusions Based on this analysis of short-term outcomes, screening adult patients in primary care using FC test at a cut-off level of 100 µg/g is expected to be cost-effective in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sirs, In 2010 the results of our study on waiting times in pediatric nephrology centers, and specifically on wait time one [1], which is defined as the time between referral [...]

Objective: To determine the most common location of parathyroid adenomas. Methods: Data from 147 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism in Montreal at a McGill University teaching hospital between January 2001 and January 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with histopathologic confirmation of parathyroid hyperplasia were excluded from the study (n = 26). The 121 patients with confirmed adenomas were grouped according to the locations of the tumour into right superior, right inferior, left superior, left inferior, and ectopic. Results: The left inferior parathyroid glands were the most common site of adenomas. This was the case for 50 patients (41.32% [mean 0.41; 95% CI 0.324-0.506]). The right inferior parathyroid glands were the site in 40 patients (33.06% [mean 0.33; 95% CI 0.248-0.422]). The remainder of the adenomas were distributed as follows: the left superior in 19 patients (15.7% [mean 0.157; 95% CI 0.097-0.234]), the right superior in 10 patients (8.26% [mean 0.0826; 95% CI 0.040-0.147]), and the ectopic in 2 patients (1.65% [mean 0.0165; 95% CI 0.002-0.058]). Conclusions: In this study, the most common site of adenoma was the left inferior parathyroid gland. This information provides parathyroid surgeons with a starting point when imaging fails to localize the site of the adenoma, which allows for the possibility of minimally invasive surgery especially if used in conjunction with intraoperative parathyroid hormone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, autoimmune disorder of the gastrointestinal tract with numerous genetic and environmental risk factors. Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) often demonstrate marked disruptions of their gut microbiome. The intestinal microbiota is strongly influenced by diet. The association between the increasing incidence of IBD worldwide and increased consumption of a westernized diet suggests host nutrition may influence the progression or treatment of IBD via the microbiome. Several nutritional therapies have been studied for the treatment of CD and UC. While their mechanisms of action are only partially understood, existing studies do suggest that diet-driven changes in microbial composition and function underlie the diverse mechanisms of nutritional therapy. Despite existing therapies for IBD focusing heavily on immune suppression, nutrition is an important treatment option due to its superior safety profile, potentially low cost, and benefits for growth and development. These benefits are increasingly important to patients. In this review, we will describe the clinical efficacy of the different nutritional therapies that have been described for the treatment of CD and UC. We will also describe the effects of each nutritional therapy on the gut microbiome and summarize the strength of the literature with recommendations for the practicing clinician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]