Top in GI: Restrictive diets in irritable bowel syndrome; alcohol use amid COVID-19

A recent study showed that restrictive diets were more effective than optimized medical treatment alone in reducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

The findings suggest that dietary treatment can serve as a first-line option, Sanna Nybacka, RD, PhD, of the department of molecular and clinical medicine at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, told Healio. It was the top story in gastroenterology last week.

The second top story was an editorial about an increase in alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nancy S. Reau, MD, FAASLD, AGAF, the Richard B. Capps Chair of Hepatology and professor at Rush University, said that hospitalizations for alcohol-related liver disease have “skyrocketed during the pandemic,” and the issue is now a public health crisis.

Read these and more top stories in gastroenterology below:

Restrictive diets offer greater symptom reduction vs. medical treatment in IBS patients

Two restrictive diets were superior in reducing symptoms compared with optimized medical treatment alone in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, according to results presented at Digestive Disease Week 2022. Read more.

Alcohol-use disorder: Unmasked or exacerbated by the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic stripped away layers of sugarcoating in our society — it exposed weak points across aspects of American life, stretched resources in public health and highlighted a deficit in recognition and access to mental health care and addiction medicine. Read more.

Unrecognized alcoholic hepatitis linked to higher mortality, hospitalization

A significant proportion of alcoholic hepatitis cases remain unrecognized and correlate with higher 30-day mortality, hospital length of stay and ICU admission, according to a recent study. Read more.

Biologics linked to lower dementia rate in older patients with IBD

Older patients with inflammatory bowel disease who were treated with biologics exhibited a lower incidence of dementia compared with those never treated with biologics, data show. Read more.

Vedolizumab, ustekinumab best anti-TNF for infection risk in older adult IBD

Vedolizumab and ustekinumab associated with a lower risk for infection-related hospitalizations compared with anti-tumor necrosis factor agents in patients who initiated inflammatory bowel disease therapy at an older age. Read more.