Top stories in gastroenterology: Therapeutic drug monitoring as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, residual confounding may account for polyp detection rates differences - Healio

Among the top gastroenterology stories last week were efforts to determine how clinicians can use therapeutic drug monitoring to improve treatment for inflammatory bowel disease and study results that suggested residual confounding may be responsible for previously identified differences in adenoma detection rates and proximal sessile serrated polyp detection rates during colonoscopy.

Other highlights included the development of a new algorithm that helped assess risk for villous atrophy in children that might have celiac disease, a study that found an inpatient protocol standardized ulcerative colitis care and a study that concluded that elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease had a higher risk for infection because of their age and other factors.

Finding consensus for biologic therapeutic drug monitoring in inflammatory bowel disease

Biologic therapies have changed the way inflammatory bowel disease is treated, but subtherapeutic drug concentrations still result in loss of response in many patients. Read more.

It’s not personal: Polyp detection better with higher volume, recent training

Residual confounding, and not an endoscopist’s personal characteristics like surgical specialty training or sex, may be responsible for previously identified differences in adenoma detection rates and proximal sessile serrated polyp detection rates during colonoscopy, according to results of a single-center study published in JAMA Surgery. Read more.

Novel algorithm assesses risk for progression to celiac disease in children

Researchers have developed a new algorithm to help assess risk for villous atrophy in children with potential celiac disease and identify which patients can hold off on immediately switching to a gluten-free diet. Read more.

‘Every patient, every time’: Inpatient protocol standardizes ulcerative colitis care

Since implementing its Inpatient Ulcerative Colitis Protocol in 2016, the University of California San Francisco has improved the uniform application of core management practices. Read more.

Age tied to infection risk in inflammatory bowel disease

Elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease have a higher risk for infection because of their age and other factors, according to study results. Read more.

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