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Introduction The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has had a serious impact on the functioning of gastrointestinal endoscopy Units. The Asociación Española de Gastroenterología [Spanish Association of Gastroenterology] (AEG) and the Sociedad Española de Endoscopia Digestiva [Spanish Association of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy] (SEED) have proposed the EPAGE guidelines for managing postponed colonoscopies. Objective To evaluate the EPAGE guidelines as a management tool compared to the immunologic faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) and compared to risk score (RS) that combines age, sex and the iFOBT for the detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) and significant bowel disease (SBD). Methods A prospective, single-centre study enrolling 743 symptomatic patients referred for a diagnostic colonoscopy. Each order was classified according to the EPAGE guidelines as appropriate, indeterminate or inappropriate. Patients underwent an iFOBT and had their RS calculated. Results The iFOBT (P

Methotrexate can be used to maintain remission in Crohn's disease patients who are intolerant to thiopurines. Data on its use as monotherapy in other scenarios are limited.To assess the effectiveness of methotrexate monotherapy in Crohn's disease patients after previous failure to anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNFα) drugs.A retrospective, observational multicentre study of data from the Spanish ENEIDA registry. Participants were patients with active Crohn's disease and previous failure to anti-TNFα started on methotrexate monotherapy. Short-term effectiveness was assessed at 12-16 weeks based on Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI): clinical remission as HBI ≤ 3 points and clinical response as HBI drop of ≥ 3 points over baseline. Long-term effectiveness was defined as steroid-free methotrexate persistence from 12 to 16 weeks until maximum follow up. Adverse events were recorded.Data were compiled for 110 patients treated with methotrexate after a failed response to one (39%) or two (55.6%) anti-TNFα agents. Short-term clinical response and remission rates were 60% and 30.9% respectively. Of 74 patients who continued after week 16, long-term effectiveness was achieved in 82% and 74% at 12 and 24 months respectively. In the multivariate analysis, non-remission at short term (vs remission) was associated with long-term failure (HR 2.58, 95%CI 1.95-3.68, P = 0.028). Adverse events (evaluated in 100 patients) were recorded in 44%, and in 30.4% of these patients, they led to methotrexate discontinuation.The benefits observed suggest methotrexate monotherapy could be a valid option in Crohn's disease patients with previous failure to anti-TNFα.

Background and Aims The development programm UNIFI has shown promising results of ustekinumab in ulcerative colitis [UC] treatment which should be confirmed in clinical practice. We aimed to evaluate the durability, effectiveness, and safety of ustekinumab in UC in real life. Methods Patients included in the prospectively maintained ENEIDA registry, who received at least one intravenous dose of ustekinumab due to active UC [Partial Mayo Score [PMS]>2], were included. Clinical activity and effectiveness were defined based on PMS. Short-term response was assessed at Week 16. Results A total of 95 patients were included. At Week 16, 53% of patients had response [including 35% of patients in remission]. In the multivariate analysis, elevated serum C-reactive protein was the only variable significantly associated with lower likelihood of achieving remission. Remission was achieved in 39% and 33% of patients at Weeks 24 and 52, respectively; 36% of patients discontinued the treatment with ustekinumab during a median follow-up of 31 weeks. The probability of maintaining ustekinumab treatment was 87% at Week 16, 63% at Week 56, and 59% at Week 72; primary failure was the main reason for ustekinumab discontinuation. No variable was associated with risk of discontinuation. Three patients reported adverse events; one of them had a fatal severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions Ustekinumab is effective in both the short and the long term in real life, even in a highly refractory cohort. Higher inflammatory burden at baseline correlated with lower probability of achieving remission. Safety was consistent with the known profile of ustekinumab.

[Abstract] A percentage of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients fail direct acting antiviral (DAA)-based treatment regimens, often because of drug resistance-associated substitutions (RAS). The aim of this study was to characterize the resistance profile of a large cohort of patients failing DAA-based treatments, and investigate the relationship between HCV subtype and failure, as an aid to optimizing management of these patients. A new, standardized HCV-RAS testing protocol based on deep sequencing was designed and applied to 220 previously subtyped samples from patients failing DAA treatment, collected in 39 Spanish hospitals. The majority had received DAA-based interferon (IFN) α-free regimens; 79% had failed sofosbuvir-containing therapy. Genomic regions encoding the nonstructural protein (NS) 3, NS5A, and NS5B (DAA target regions) were analyzed using subtype-specific primers. Viral subtype distribution was as follows: genotype (G) 1, 62.7%; G3a, 21.4%; G4d, 12.3%; G2, 1.8%; and mixed infections 1.8%. Overall, 88.6% of patients carried at least 1 RAS, and 19% carried RAS at frequencies below 20% in the mutant spectrum. There were no differences in RAS selection between treatments with and without ribavirin. Regardless of the treatment received, each HCV subtype showed specific types of RAS. Of note, no RAS were detected in the target proteins of 18.6% of patients failing treatment, and 30.4% of patients had RAS in proteins that were not targets of the inhibitors they received. HCV patients failing DAA therapy showed a high diversity of RAS. Ribavirin use did not influence the type or number of RAS at failure. The subtype-specific pattern of RAS emergence underscores the importance of accurate HCV subtyping. The frequency of “extra-target” RAS suggests the need for RAS screening in all three DAA target regions. Ministerio de Economía y Empresa; IDI-20151125 Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; SAF SAF 2017-87846-R

Background Previous studies comparing inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) features between migrant and native patients have shown clinical phenotype differences. To date, no study has focused on IBD immigrants(MP) in Spain. The aim of this study was to explore the features of MP in Spain and to compare age of disease onset, IBD phenotype and therapeutic requirements with native-born IBD patients(NP). Methods This was an observational, multicentric and case-control study of the nationwide ENEIDA registry. We selected all IBD patients who were born outside of Spain and compared with a control cohort of NP. All included patients were diagnosed with IBD before 2015. Results A total of 13,524 patients were included(1864 MP and 11660 NP).The most prevalent ethnic migrant group was Caucasian(771, 41%), followed by Latin American(572, 31%) and Arabian(341,18%), whereas Asian represented only 6%. Table 1 summarizes the demographic and phenotypic features. 71% of MP were diagnosed with IBD in Spain. There was not a gender predisposition to IBD in the overall migrant group, however more female UC MP were detected compared to UC NP(52 % vs 45%, p Conclusion In the largest cohort of migrant IBD patients in Spain, immigrants were younger, had a shorter disease duration and required a higher use of biologics than natives, pointing phenotypic differences in this population and a universal access to the healthcare system all over the country.

Background and Aims Primary sclerosing cholangitis [PSC] is usually associated with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. An increased risk of malignancies, mainly colorectal cancer [CRC] and cholangiocarcinoma [CCA], has been reported in PSC-IBD patients. Our aim was to determine the clinical characteristics and management of PSC in IBD patients, and the factors associated with malignancies. Methods PSC-IBD patients were identified from the Spanish ENEIDA registry of GETECCU. Additional data were collected using the AEG-REDCap electronic data capture tool. Results In total, 277 PSC-IBD patients were included, with an incidence rate of 61 PSC cases per 100 000 IBD patient-years, 69.7% men, 67.5% ulcerative colitis and mean age at PSC diagnosis of 40 ± 16 years. Most patients [85.2%] were treated with ursodeoxycholic acid. Liver transplantation was required in 35 patients [12.6%] after 79 months (interquartile range [IQR] 50–139). It was more common in intra- and extrahepatic PSC compared with small-duct PSC (16.3% vs 3.3%; odds ratio [OR] 5.7: 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7–19.3). The incidence rate of CRC since PSC diagnosis was 3.3 cases per 1000 patient-years [95% CI = 1.9–5.6]. Having symptoms of PSC at PSC diagnosis was the only factor related to an increased risk of CRC after IBD diagnosis [hazard ratio= 3.3: 95% CI = 1.1–9.9]. CCA was detected in seven patients [2.5%] with intra- and extrahepatic PSC, with median age of 42 years [IQR 39–53], and presented a lower life expectancy compared with patients without CCA and patients with or without CRC. Conclusions PSC-IBD patients with symptoms of PSC at PSC diagnosis have an increased risk of CRC. CCA was only diagnosed in patients with intra- and extrahepatic PSC and was associated with poor survival.

Background Loss of response (LOR) to tumour necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) occurs in up to 50% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The ability to predict which patients are likely to lose response would allow therapies to be tailored to the patient’s characteristics. Immunogenicity is a common cause of LOR. Recently, a GWAS performed using the PANTS cohort demonstrated that carriage of one or more HLA-DQA1*05 alleles confers an increased risk of immunogenicity to anti-TNF therapy (Sazonovs et al. Gastroenterology 2019). We found that HLA-DQA1*05 carriage also identified patients at increased risk of clinical LOR to infliximab (Guardiola et al. ECCO 2019). The aim of our study was to know if carriage of a HLA-DQA1*05 allele is also associated with secondary LOR to adalimumab (ADA) in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). Methods This is a retrospective cohort study from a prospectively maintained data base. Patients were included if they had achieved response to ADA. LOR was defined as recurrence or worsening of IBD-related symptoms that required a change or intensification in treatment, hospitalisation or surgery. Independent predictors of LOR were identified using univariate and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression. Results We included 53 patients with Crohn’s disease, followed up to LOR (n = 31, 58%) or a median of 51 months (IQR 35–74). Forty-five per cent were carriers of an HLA-QA1*05 allele. HLA-DQA1*05 carriage was associated with LOR both, upon univariate analysis (HR 2.1 (95% CI 1.1–4.3), p = 0.04) and upon multivariate analysis, after adjusting for immunomodulators use, smoking status and BMI (HR 2.74 (95% CI 1.2–6.2), p = 0.02) (Figure 1). The cumulative persistence rates of ADA after adjusting for immunomodulators use was significantly lower in HLA-DQA1*05 carriers compared with non-carriers (HR 4 (95% CI 1.2–15.5), p = 0.02) (Figure 2). Conclusion HLA-DQA1*05 carriage is frequent and it is associated with a marked increase in the risk of LOR to ADA. HLA-DQA1*05 may become a clinically meaningful genetic marker that could allow for treatment to be tailored according to the risk of LOR, which is a step towards personalised medicine.

Background AntiTNF therapeutic drug monitoring is currently performed at trough, immediately before drug administration. However, in clinical practice when subcutaneous medications are used, blood extractions often do not coincide with that moment. The aim of this study was to know if adalimumab levels measured between injections are sufficiently similar to trough levels to be used in clinical practice in a similar way. Methods 295 adalimumab level determinations performed at different time points of 99 injection cycles in 55 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were included in the study. 51 patients received 40mg every 2 weeks and 4 patients received 80mg every 2 weeks. Results Median adalimumab levels (IQR) at trough, between days 1–4, 5–8 and 9–13 were 10.6 (6–12), 12.3 (7–18), 13 (7–19) and 10.8 (8–12), respectively. The median differences between trough level and days 1–4, 5–8 and 9–13 were 1.7 (IC 95% 1–2.3) (p < 0.001), 2.3 (IC 95% 1.5–3.1) (p < 0.001), 0.6 (IC 95% –0.2–1.3) (p = 0.13), respectively. Conclusion Adalimumab levels between days 9 and 13 from drug injection are very similar to trough level and could be interpreted clinically at the same way. Adalimumab levels between days 1 and 8 are significantly higher, although, differences are small.