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Top 5 gastroenterology articles posted in November
Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease compiled a list of the top five stories posted in November.
This month, our readers were most interested in endoscopists at an increased risk for infectious diseases, as well as ergonomics in endoscopy and abrilumab’s potential to treat moderate and severe ulcerative colitis.
Endoscopists who do not wear face shields at risk for infection
Physicians and assisting staff who do not wear protective masks during endoscopy are at risk for exposures that could result in the transmission of infectious diseases, according to research published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Asif Khalid, MD, of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and colleagues wrote that the use of face masks by endoscopists varies due to a lack of evidence-based guidelines. READ MORE
Abrilumab induces remission, healing in moderate to severe UC
Abrilumab, an anti-alpha-4 beta-7 antibody, helped induce remission, clinical response and mucosal healing in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, according to research published in Gastroenterology.
William J. Sandborn , MD, director of the University of California San Diego Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, and colleagues wrote that many patients with UC fail to achieve remission on conventional therapy and eventually require colectomy. Abrilumab could fill a significant unmet need for these patients. READ MORE
Ergonomics in endoscopy: Balancing efficiency and physician wellbeing
Imagine a physically demanding job, one that requires a person to perform repetitive motions again and again over the course of the day, the week and throughout their careers. An endoscopist might not be the first occupation that comes to mind when considering what positions might be at risk for work-related pain or injuries but increasing pressure to improve efficiency and treat more patients comes with the side effect of higher risk for repetitive use injuries among gastroenterologists.
Ergonomics has been discussed in endoscopy for decades, but according to Amandeep Shergill, MD, MS, associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and director of endoscopy at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, it emerged as a hot topic within the last 5 years, becoming the focus of various professional societies, including the ASGE, the ACG and the AGA. READ MORE
Humira levels linked to biologic Crohn’s remission
Patients with optimized Humira drug levels were more likely to achieve biologic remission, according to research published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
“It is increasingly recognized that clinical symptom activity indices correlate poorly with the degree of underlying intestinal inflammation,” Nikolas Plevris, MRCP, of the Edinburgh IBD Unit at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, and colleagues wrote. “In the era of treating beyond symptoms, data are emerging that even higher serum drug levels are required to achieve objective end points like mucosal healing.” READ MORE
Drug combination shows promise in rare GI cancers
A combination of dabrafenib and trametinib demonstrated promising efficacy in patients with rare gastrointestinal cancers linked to a mutation of the BRAF gene, according to research presented at the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland.
Zev Wainberg , MD, of the department of medicine at UCLA, and colleagues explored the drug combination’s efficacy among patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC) and adenocarcinoma of the small intestine (ASI) who had previously received treatment with at least one line of systemic therapy. The median progression-free survival in both cancers is less than 5 months. READ MORE