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Urban green spaces provide several benefits related to the quality of urban life. The existence and spatial arrangement of these spaces within neighbourhoods and functional land uses have significant implications for the well-being of urban dwellers. Previous studies on green spaces in urban areas of Malawi have focused on a broader and macro-level perspective, offering insightful information on general trends in different cities. However, there is a significant research shortage in localised understanding, which requires carrying out micro-level assessments concentrating on land use zones and neighbourhoods within these cities. In this study, we used remote sensing data and landscape metrics to understand the distribution and configuration of urban green spaces in the city's neighbourhoods and functional land uses and their relationship with urban form. The study revealed that 20% of neighbourhoods fail to meet the WHO-recommended standard of 9 m2 of green space per person, with a predominant concentration of these undersupplied areas in high-density and quasi-residential zones. In addition, 56.2% of Lilongwe City's total green area was contained under functional land uses. Particularly, high-rise residential, medium-density residential, low-density residential, quasi-residential, high-rise flat area, commercial class, high-rise commercial, heavy industry, light industry, and government land use zones contained 17.3%, 12.0%, 22.2%, 12.0%, 4.1%, 6.4%, 6.1%, 5.0%, 1.6%, and 13.3% of the total green spaces in functional land uses, respectively. Importantly, this research found significant correlations between urban form metrics, namely building coverage, building density, building perimeter area ratio, road density, and the distribution and configuration of urban green spaces. This necessitates an integrated approach to urban planning and design, emphasising the importance of balancing development with green space preservation.

Abstract Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda, has established partnerships with several other institutions worldwide, including the University of Brescia and “Magna Græcia” University, which have agreed to collaborate for the primary purpose of student exchange. Our aim is to comment on students’ preparation for away rotations based on the authors’ own experiences and opinions alongside a review of selected papers on the preparation of students for global health and ethical collaboration. Medical electives represent a unique opportunity for all medical students, not merely for those who will work in resource-limited settings due to increasing globalization. The emergence of ethical international collaborations is of paramount importance to stimulate these projects and ensure that they are implemented safely and with adequate preparation even and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urban green spaces enhance cities' natural beauty, boost biodiversity, and promote the health and happiness of city residents, among other benefits. Despite the benefits of urban green spaces, their spatial configuration and composition are impacted by urban expansion. This study aims to investigate the spatial-temporal fragmentation trends of urban green spaces in four cities in Malawi (Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu). We, therefore, applied multi-temporal Landsat images to understand trends in urban green spaces from 1986 to 2021. Five landscape metrics, namely: percentage of land area (PLAND), number of patches (NP), patch density, largest patch index (LPI), landscape shape index (LSI), and mean patch size (MPS), were used to quantify the degree of urban green space fragmentation in Fragstats software. The results showed an increase in the NP, PD, and LSI and a decline in the LPI and MPA in the four cities. This is an indication of fragmentation and a reduction in green space. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in the loss and fragmentation of urban green space areas, which has been attributed to the rapid expansion of built-up areas at the expense of green spaces. The present study is the first to incorporate landscape metrics to understand the spatial heterogeneity of the composition and configuration of green spaces in all the cities of Malawi. The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of how urban growth impacts fragmentation and the loss of urban green spaces and offer valuable insights for better spatial planning and management of cities.

Abstract: Plantation Limited Company (PTPN)-II has been underway since 2002 and has been 18 years unfinished until now. The problems faced in its settlement are not only issues of land administration but are related to various aspects. This research uses empirical methods with the description approach. The type of data used is primary and secondary data. Data collection is done by interview and a literature study with primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The results of this study are to explain and give an overview of the very long process of land settlement in the ex-PTPN-II cultivation rights in North Sumatra Province. In conclusion, it is necessary to revise Decree of the Head of the National Land Agency Number 42/HGU/BPN/2002 concerning the granting of an extension of the term of the land use rights located in the Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra Province, Decree of the Head of the National Land Agency Number 43/HGU/BPN/2002 concerning the granting of an extension of the term of the land use rights located in the Langkat Regency, North Sumatra Province, and Decree of the Head of the National Land Agency Number 44/HGU/BPN/2002 concerning the rejection of the application for the extension of the period of the land use rights located in the city of Binjai, North Sumatra Province, respectively dated November 29, 2002. It needs to be formulated legal consensus to accelerate the completion of ex-PTPN-II cultivation rights, and the President makes a Presidential Decree, which can be the legal basis for its resolution. Intisari: Penyelesaian masalah Hak Guna Usaha (HGU) Ex. PTPN-II telah berlangsung sejak tahun 2002 dan telah 18 tahun belum selesai hingga sekarang. Masalah yang dihadapi bukan hanya masalah administrasi pertanahan tetapi terkait dengan berbagai aspek. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode empiris dengan pendekatan deskriptif. Jenis data yang digunakan adalah data primer dan sekunder. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara dan studi literatur dengan materi hukum primer, sekunder, dan tersier. Hasil penelitian ini adalah menjelaskan dan memberikan gambaran umum dari proses penyelesaian lahan yang sangat lama terhadap HGU ex PTPN-II di Provinsi Sumatera Utara. Kesimpulannya adalah perlu untuk merevisi Keputusan Kepala Badan Pertanahan Nasional Nomor 42 / HGU / BPN / 2002, Keputusan Kepala Badan Pertanahan Nasional Nomor 43 / HGU / BPN / 2002, dan Keputusan Kepala Tanah Nasional Badan Nomor 44 / HGU / BPN / 2002. Perlu dirumuskan secara legal konsensus untuk mempercepat penyelesaian HGU ex-PTPN-II, dan diperlukan Keputusan Presiden, yang dapat menjadi dasar hukum untuk penyelesaiannya

Background: Upadacitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor, which has recently been approved for treating Crohn's disease. There are limited real-world studies on the outcomes of upadacitinib in Crohn's disease., Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the outcomes of upadacitinib in a real-world Crohn's disease cohort., Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study over a 2-year period across National Health Service (NHS) Lothian and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The primary outcome was treatment persistence at week 24. Secondary endpoints were corticosteroid-free clinical remission (Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI)<5) and biomarker remission (C-reactive protein (CRP)≤5 mg/L and faecal calprotectin (FCAL)<250 µg/g) at 12, 24 and 52 weeks. We recorded adverse events., Results: 135 patients commenced upadacitinib as of the 1 January 2024, of which 93 patients with active Crohn's disease were included with a minimum of 12 weeks follow-up. The median follow-up time was 25 weeks (IQR 15-42 weeks). 82% of the cohort had exposure to at least two classes of advanced therapies, and 52% had exposure to at least three classes of advanced therapies. Treatment persistence was 87.1% at week 12, 81.7% at week 24 and 62.8% at week 52. Rates of clinical remission were 64% (42/66), 48% (22/46) and 38% (8/21) at weeks 12, 24 and 52, respectively. Significant reductions in HBI, CRP and FCAL were observed during follow-up. 14% (13/91) had a hospitalisation due to Crohn's disease. Adverse events occurred in 40% (37/93) of the cohort, of which 12% (11/93) were serious., Conclusion: Upadacitinib was effective in a real-world, highly refractory, Crohn's disease cohort with good persistence., Competing Interests: Competing interests: BG has served as consultant to Galapagos and Abbvie and as speaker for Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer and Galapagos. NP has served as a speaker for Janssen, Takeda and Pfizer. JG has received grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, outside the submitted work. NAK has acted as a consultant to Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Falk, Janssen, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda and Tillotts, received speaking fees from Amgen, Celltrion, Falk, Janssen, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda and Tillotts and travel support from AbbVie, Falk, Janssen and Pharmacosmos. His institution has received grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Roche and Takeda. TA reports grants and non-financial support from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, non-financial support from Immundiagnostik, personal fees from Biogen, grants and personal fees from Celltrion Healthcare, personal fees and nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from ARENA, personal fees from Gilead, personal fees from Adcock Ingram Healthcare, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Genentech, nonfinancial support from Tillotts, outside the submitted work. CWL has acted as a consultant to Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer, Galapagos, Bristol Myers Squibb, B.I., Sandoz, Novartis, GSK, Gilead, ViforPharma, Dr Falk and Iterative Health; he has received speaking fees and travel support from Pfizer, Janssen, Abbvie, Galapagos, MSD, Takeda, Shire, Ferring, Hospira and Dr Falk., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms including diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fatigue can significantly impact patient's quality of life. Therapeutic developments in the last 20 years have revolutionised treatment. However, clinical trials and real-world data show primary non-response rates up to 40%. A significant challenge is an inability to predict which treatment will benefit individual patients.Current understanding of IBD pathogenesis implicates complex interactions between host genetics and the gut microbiome. Most cohorts studying the gut microbiota to date have been underpowered, examined single treatments and produced heterogeneous results. Lack of cross-treatment comparisons and well-powered independent replication cohorts hampers the ability to infer real-world utility of predictive signatures.IBD-RESPONSE will use multi-omic data to create a predictive tool for treatment response. Future patient benefit may include development of biomarker-based treatment stratification or manipulation of intestinal microbial targets. IBD-RESPONSE and downstream studies have the potential to improve quality of life, reduce patient risk and reduce expenditure on ineffective treatments., Methods and Analysis: This prospective, multicentre, observational study will identify and validate a predictive model for response to advanced IBD therapies, incorporating gut microbiome, metabolome, single-cell transcriptome, human genome, dietary and clinical data. 1325 participants commencing advanced therapies will be recruited from ~40 UK sites. Data will be collected at baseline, week 14 and week 54. The primary outcome is week 14 clinical response. Secondary outcomes include clinical remission, loss of response in week 14 responders, corticosteroid-free response/remission, time to treatment escalation and change in patient-reported outcome measures., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the Wales Research Ethics Committee 5 (ref: 21/WA/0228). Recruitment is ongoing. Following study completion, results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific meetings. Publications will be summarised at www.ibd-response.co.uk., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN96296121., Competing Interests: Competing interests: TA reports personal grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen, AbbVie, Janssen, Celltrion, Galapagos, Immunodiagnostik and Takeda, outside the submitted work; personal fees for educational development/delivery from Pfizer, payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Pfizer, Takeda and F. Hoffman-La Roche; support for attending meetings from Celltrion, Tillotts and Pfizer. CAA reports grants from the Wellcome Sanger Institute Quinquennial Review 2021–2026, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (USA), the Medical Research Council, Open Targets UK and the Helmsley Charitable Trust; consulting fees from BridgeBio, Genomics and Brigham & Women’s Hospital Boston; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from GlaxoSmithKline; support for attending meetings and/or travel membership from the Wellcome Sanger Institute Quinquennial Review 2021–2026; (Chair) of the Board of Trustees for the Sanger Prize; other interests as Director of Anderson Genomics Consultancy. MB reports partial personal salary funding from the Medical Research Council. ALH reports personal consulting fees from AbbVie, BMS, Celltrion, Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda and Roche; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from BMS, Celltrion, Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda, Roche and AbbVie; support for attending meetings and/or travel from BMS, Celltrion, Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda, Roche and AbbVie. PI reports personal grants from Celltrion, Galapagos and Pfizer, outside the submitted work; personal consulting fees from AbbVie, Takeda, BMS, Janssen, Arena, Pfizer, Galapagos, Lilly, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Celgene; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Lilly, BMS, Pfizer and Galapagos; support for attending meetings and/or travel from AbbVie and Tillotts. LJ-D reports grants from the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research, the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Medical Research Council; grants from Novartis Pharmaceutical, outside the submitted work; consulting fees from Nightingale Health and Genomics. CK reports partial salary funding from the Medical Research Council. NAK reports grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celltrion, Galapagos and Immunodiagnostik; consulting fees from AbbVie, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Dr Falk; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Tillotts, Galapagos and Takeda; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Tillotts; participation (Chair) on the Board of the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Clinical Research Group. CAL reports grants from and/or consultancy for Janssen, Takeda, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Orion, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, UCB, Biogen, GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Genentech; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Ferring, Takeda, Janssen, Nordic Pharma and Dr Falk; participation (Secretary) on the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Section; participation on the Steering Committee of IBD UK. CWL reports grants from UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship; personal consulting fees from AbbVie, Pfizer, Janssen, Takeda, Galapagos, Fresnius Kabi, Novartis/Sandoz, BMS and Celltrion; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Pfizer, Janssen, Takeda, Galapagos, Fresnius Kabi, Novartis/Sandoz, BMS, Ferring, Dr Falk and Celltrion. JOL reports grants from AbbVie, and Gilead; personal consulting fees from Allergan, AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Cornerstones US, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Lilly, MSD UK, Shire UK, Shire International, Ferring UK, Ferring International, Celltrion, Takeda, Pfizer and Janssen; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cornerstones US, Galapagos, Ferring UK, Ferring International, Celltrion, Takeda, Pfizer and Janssen; support to attend meetings and/or travel from AbbVie and Janssen. RHM reports that she is an independent membership on the Trial Steering Committee for the National Institute for Health and Care Research funded ALLEGRO trial. JRM reports personal consulting fees from EnteroBiotix and Cultech; patent held (without financial gain) on Clostridium difficile therapy (WO2019197836A1), participation (Chair) on the IDMC Board. NMcG reports partial (10%) salary funding from the Medical Research Council. REM reports personal salary funding from the Wellcome Sanger Institute. JO reports stock held in Novartis. MP reports grants from Pfizer and Gilead; personal consulting fees from Galapagos; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen. NP reports grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda and Pfizer; consulting fees from AbbVie, Allergan, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, GSK, Takeda and Vifor; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, Roche, Pfizer, Takeda and Tillotts; support for attending meetings and/or travel from AbbVie, Allergan, Celltrion, Janssen and Takeda; participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AbbVie, Allergan, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, GSK, Takeda and Vifor. TR reports personal grants from AbbVie; personal consulting fees from AbbVie, Arena, Aslan, AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Ferring, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Heptares, LabGenius, Janssen, Mylan, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Takeda, UCB and XAP therapeutics; participation on the board of UCB, membership (Chair) of the ECCO Guidelines Committee, membership of the UEG Scientific Committee. JS reports grants from Crohn’s and Colitis UK, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, ECCO, the European Commission, CCFA and Action Medical Research; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Roche; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for the MODULATE trial and the TRIBUTE trial; leadership or fiduciary role as the Director of the Royal College of Physicians IBD Registry, and Governing Body Fellow at Green Templeton College. AS reports personal consulting fees from GSK; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Falk, and AbbVie; payment of conference fees to attend the British Society of Gastroenterology Annual Conference 2022 from Celltrion; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for the IBD-RESPONSE study (unpaid), and AbbVie; participation on the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Section Committee. CJS reports personal consultancy fees from Astarte Medical; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Nestle Nutrition Institute. JW reports grants from Intercept; consulting fees from Worg and UCB; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Roche. KW reports grants from the Helsmsley Charitable Trust, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, Almond Board of California, Danone, International Dried Fruit and Nut Council, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health and care Research; royalty or license payments for Volatile organic compounds in the diagnosis and management of irritable bowel syndrome, and Wiley BDA Advances in Nutrition & Dietetics book series; personal consulting fees from Danone; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Yakult; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for the MODULATE trial (unpaid)., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving anti-TNF and JAK-inhibitor therapy have attenuated responses to COVID-19 vaccination. We aimed to determine how IBD treatments affect neutralising antibody responses against the Omicron BA.4/5 variant., Methods: In this multicentre cohort study, we prospectively recruited 340 adults (69 healthy controls and 271 IBD) at nine UK hospitals between May 28, 2021 and March 29, 2022. The IBD study population was established (>12 weeks therapy) on either thiopurine (n = 63), infliximab (n = 45), thiopurine and infliximab combination therapy (n = 48), ustekinumab (n = 45), vedolizumab (n = 46) or tofacitinib (n = 24). Patients were excluded if they were being treated with any other immunosuppressive therapies. Participants had two doses of either ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 vaccines, followed by a third dose of either BNT162b2 or mRNA1273. Pseudo-neutralisation assays against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and BA.4/5 were performed. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (NT50) of participant sera was calculated. The primary outcome was anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralising response against wild-type virus and Omicron BA.4/5 variant after the second and third doses of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, stratified by immunosuppressive therapy, adjusting for prior infection, vaccine type, age, and interval between vaccination and blood collection. This study is registered with ISRCTN (No. 13495664)., Findings: Both heterologous (first two doses adenovirus vaccine, third dose mRNA vaccine) and homologous (three doses mRNA vaccine) vaccination strategies significantly increased neutralising titres against both wild-type SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Omicron BA.4/5 variant in healthy participants and patients with IBD. Antibody titres against BA.4/5 were significantly lower than antibodies against wild-type virus in both healthy participants and patients with IBD (p < 0.0001). Multivariable models demonstrated that neutralising antibodies against BA.4/5 after three doses of vaccine were significantly lower in patients with IBD on infliximab (Geometric Mean Ratio (GMR) 0.19 [0.10, 0.36], p < 0.0001), infliximab and thiopurine combination (GMR 0.25 [0.13, 0.49], p < 0.0001) or tofacitinib (GMR 0.43 [0.20, 0.91], p = 0.028), but not in patients on thiopurine monotherapy, ustekinumab, or vedolizumab. Breakthrough infection was associated with lower neutralising antibodies against wild-type (p = 0.037) and BA.4/5 (p = 0.045)., Interpretation: A third dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine based on the wild-type spike glycoprotein significantly boosts neutralising antibody titres in patients with IBD. However, responses are lower against the Omicron variant BA.4/5, particularly in patients taking anti-TNF and JAK-inhibitor therapy. Breakthrough infections are associated with lower neutralising antibodies and immunosuppressed patients with IBD may receive additional benefit from bivalent vaccine boosters which target Omicron variants., Funding: Pfizer., Competing Interests: ALH reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from AbbVie, Arena, Atlantic, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Ferring, Dr Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Shire, and Takeda; participation on the Global Steering Committee for Genentech. AJK reports consulting fees from Janssen; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from Pfizer and Takeda; support for attending meetings or travel from Janssen, Tillotts, and Norgine; and participation in a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AbbVie. CWL received personal consulting fees from Galapagos, AbbVie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen and Iterative Scopes; institutional consulting fees from Trellus Health; and support for attending meetings from Galapagos, AbbVie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, GSK, Gilead, Fresenius Kabi, Ferring, and Dr Falk. GRJ received speaker fees from Takeda, Ferring, Janssen, AbbVie and Fresenius Kabi. JLA received support for attending meetings from Takeda. JRG reports grants from Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda and Galapagos. KVP received consulting fees from AbbVie, Janssen, Galapagos and Pfizer; reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Janssen, Galapagos, Pfizer, Takeda, Tillotts and Ferring; support for attending meetings or travel from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Janssen, Galapagos, Pfizer, Takeda, Tillotts and Ferring; and participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AbbVie, Galapagos, Pfizer and Janssen. SB received research grant from Bowel Research UK and support for attending conferences from Ferring and Dr Falk, outside the submitted work. KMP is a member of the data safety monitoring board for NCT05249829 and NCT05575492; has received a fee for speaking from Seqirus and Sanofi Pasteur, and has research funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the MRC/UKRI, the Vaccine Task Force, and NIHR Imperial BRC outside the submitted work. KK reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from Janssen and Ferring; support for attending meetings or travel from Janssen and Takeda; and participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for Janssen and PredictImmune. MP received research grant from Pfizer and speaker fees from Janssen. NAK reports grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Roche, and Takeda; consulting fees from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dr Falk, Janssen, Mylan, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda, and Tillotts; personal fees from Allergan, Celltrion, Dr Falk, Ferring, Janssen, Pharmacosmos, Takeda, Tillotts, and Galapagos; and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Tillotts and Janssen, outside the submitted work. PMI reports grants from Celltrion, Takeda, MSD, Pfizer, and Galapagos; personal fees from Gilead, Pfizer, Galapagos, Takeda, AbbVie, Celltrion, Janssen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Arena; speaker fees from Pfizer, Galapagos, Takeda, AbbVie, Celltrion, Janssen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Arena, outside the submitted work. SS reports grants from Tillotts, Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer and AbbVie; received personal fees from AbbVie, Tillotts, Janssen, Takeda, Dr Falk, Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb; received support for attending meetings from Janssen, AbbVie and Celltrion; and serves as a member of the data safety monitoring board for AbbVie, Janssen, Takeda, Celltrion, Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb. TA reports grant funding from Pfizer to deliver this study; grants from Celltrion, Roche, Takeda, Biogen, and Galapagos; and honoraria for lectures from Takeda and Roche, outside the submitted work. NP is the principal investigator on the research grant from Pfizer that funded the VIP study; has received research grants from Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, Galapagos, CCUK, AstraZeneca, Helmsley Charitable Trust, outside the submitted work; reports personal fees from Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, Galapagos, Bristol Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Roche, Lilly, Allergan, Celgene and AstraZeneca outside the submitted work; and has served as a speaker or advisory board member for AbbVie, Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Dr Falk, AstraZeneca, Galapagos and Vifor; and serves as a member of the data safety monitoring board for Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Objective: Despite its association with poorer outcomes, opioid use in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not well characterised in the UK. We aimed to examine the extent of opioid use, the associated factors and the use of mitigation techniques such as pain-service review and opioid weaning plans among individuals with IBD., Methods: Data were collected from consecutive patients attending IBD outpatient appointments at 12 UK hospitals. A predefined questionnaire was used to collect data including patient demographics, IBD history, opioid use in the past year (>2 weeks) and opioid-use mitigation techniques. Additionally, consecutive IBD-related hospital stays leading up to July 2019 were reviewed with data collected regarding opioid use at admission, discharge and follow-up as well as details of the admission indication., Results: In 1352 outpatients, 12% had used opioids within the past 12 months. Over half of these individuals were taking opioids for non-IBD pain and less than half had undergone an attempted opioid wean.In 324 hospitalised patients, 27% were prescribed opioids at discharge from hospital. At 12 months postdischarge, 11% were using opioids. Factors associated with opioid use in both cohorts included female sex, Crohn's disease and previous surgery., Conclusions: 1 in 10 patients with IBD attending outpatient appointments were opioid exposed in the past year while a quarter of inpatients were discharged with opioids, and 11% continued to use opioids 12 months after discharge. IBD services should aim to identify patients exposed to opioids, reduce exposure where possible and facilitate access to alternative pain management approaches., Competing Interests: Competing interests: SB has had speaker arrangements with Takeda and Dr Falk, has received travel grants from Galapagos, Celltrion and Dr Falk and has provided consultancy to Galapagos. JKL has received grants from Galapagos and Takeda and speaker and consultancy fees from Abbvie, Arena, Celltrion, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer and Takeda. GP has had personal fees from AbbVie, Allergan, BMS, Celltrion, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, Takeda, Tillotts. Travel grants from—AbbVie, Celltrion, Ferring, Janssen, Takeda, Tillotts and is a Director and Shareholder in Ampersand Health. GS has had speaker arrangements with Takeda, Abbvie, Tillotts and Galapagos. TR has received research/educational grants and/or speaker/consultation fees from Abbvie, Arena, Aslan, AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Ferring, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Heptares, LabGenius, Janssen, Mylan, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Takeda and UCB. CAL reports grants from Genentech, grants and personal fees from Janssen, grants and personal fees from Takeda, grants from AbbVie, personal fees from Ferring, grants from Eli Lilly, grants from Pfizer, grants from Roche, grants from UCB Biopharma, grants from Sanofi Aventis, grants from Biogen IDEC, grants from Orion OYJ, personal fees from Dr Falk Pharma, grants from AstraZeneca, outside the submitted work. NAK has served as a speaker and/or advisory board member for AbbVie, Allergan, BMS, Falk, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, Mylan, Pharmacosmos, Sandoz, Takeda and Tillotts. IC has speaker arrangements with Celltrion and has received a travel grant from Galapagos. RP has provided consultancy to Galapagos. CS has received unrestricted research grants from Warner Chilcott, Janssen and AbbVie, has provided consultancy to Warner Chilcott, Dr Falk, AbbVie, Takeda, Fresenius Kabi, Galapagos, Ferring, Arena and Janssen, and had speaker arrangements with Warner Chilcott, Dr Falk, AbbVie, MSD, Pfizer, Celltrion and Takeda.The preparation of this paper was funded in part by Galapagos., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract that significantly impairs patients' quality of life and well-being. Anti-TNF biologicals revolutionised the treatment of CD, yet many patients do not adequately respond to such therapy. Previous studies have demonstrated a pro-inflammatory pattern in the composition of CD patients' immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycome compared to healthy individuals. Here, we utilised the high-throughput UHPLC method for N-glycan analysis to explore the longitudinal effect of the anti-TNF drugs infliximab and adalimumab on N-glycome composition of total serum IgG in 198 patients, as well as the predictive potential of IgG N-glycans at baseline to detect primary non-responders to anti-TNF therapy in 1315 patients. We discovered a significant decrease in IgG agalactosylation and an increase in monogalactosylation, digalactosylation and sialylation during the 14 weeks of anti-TNF treatment, regardless of therapy response, all of which suggested a diminished inflammatory environment in CD patients treated with anti-TNF therapy. Furthermore, we observed that IgG N-glycome might contain certain information regarding the anti-TNF therapy outcome before initiating the treatment. However, it is impossible to predict future primary non-responders to anti-TNF therapy based solely on IgG N-glycome composition at baseline.

Background and Aims: Healthcare quality improvement (QI) is the systematic process to continuously improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients. The landmark Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) UK National Audits provided a means to measure the variation in care, highlighting the need to define the standards of excellence in IBD care. Through a consensus approach, we aimed to establish key performance indicators (KPIs), providing reliable benchmarks for IBD care delivery in UK., Methods: KPIs that measure critical aspects of a patient journey within an IBD service were identified though stakeholder meetings. A two-stage Delphi consensus was then conducted. The first involved a multidisciplinary team of IBD clinicians and patients to refine definitions and methodology. The second stage assessed feasibility and utility of the proposed QI process by surveying gastroenterology services across UK., Results: First, the four proposed KPIs were refined and included time from primary care referral to diagnosis in secondary care, time to treatment recommendation following a diagnosis, appropriate use of steroids and advanced therapies prescreening and assessment. Second, the Delphi consensus reported >85% agreement on the feasibility of local adoption of the QI process and >75% agreement on the utility of benchmarking of the KPIs., Conclusions: Through a structured approach, we propose quantifiable KPIs for benchmarking to improve and reduce the individual variation in IBD care across the UK., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background and Aims: Vitamin D has a regulatory role in innate and adaptive immune processes. Previous studies have reported that low pretreatment vitamin D concentrations are associated with primary non-response (PNR) and non-remission to anti-TNF therapy. This study aimed to assess whether pretreatment 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations predicted PNR and non-remission to infliximab and adalimumab in patients with active luminal Crohn's disease., Methods: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were measured in stored baseline samples from 659 infliximab- and 448 adalimumab-treated patients in the Personalised Anti-TNF Therapy in Crohn's disease (PANTS) study. Cut-offs for vitamin D were deficiency <25 nmol/L, insufficiency 25-50 nmol/L, and adequacy/sufficiency >50 nmol/L., Results: About 17.1% (189/1107; 95% CI, 15.0-19.4) and 47.7% (528/1107; 95% CI, 44.8-50.6) of patients had vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, respectively. 22.2% (246/1107) of patients were receiving vitamin D supplementation. Multivariable analysis confirmed that sampling during non-summer months, South Asian ethnicity, lower serum albumin concentrations, and non-treatment with vitamin D supplementation were independently associated with lower vitamin D concentrations. Pretreatment vitamin D status did not predict response or remission to anti-TNF therapy at week 14 (infliximab P pnr = .89, adalimumab P pnr = .18) or non-remission at week 54 (infliximab P = .13, adalimumab P = .58). Vitamin D deficiency was, however, associated with a longer time to immunogenicity in patients treated with infliximab, but not adalimumab., Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with active Crohn's disease. Unlike previous studies, pretreatment vitamin D concentration did not predict PNR to anti-TNF treatment at week 14 or nonremission at week 54., Competing Interests: S.L. reports nonfinancial support from Pfizer outside the submitted work. N.A.K. reports grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen Inc, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, grants and nonfinancial support from AbbVie, grants and personal fees from Celltrion, personal fees and nonfinancial support from Janssen, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees and nonfinancial support from Dr Falk, outside the submitted work. T.A. reports grants and nonfinancial support from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen Inc, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, personal fees from Biogen inc, grants and personal fees from Celltrion Healthcare, personal fees and nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from ARENA, personal fees from Gilead, personal fees from Adcock Ingram Healthcare, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Genentech, nonfinancial support from Tillotts, outside the submitted work. J.R.G. reports grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen Inc, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, outside the submitted work. The following authors have nothing to declare: N.C., R.S., C.R., R.N., T.J.M., C.B., B.H., and M.B., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.)

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with anti-TNF therapy exhibit attenuated humoral immune responses to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The gut microbiota and its functional metabolic output, which are perturbed in IBD, play an important role in shaping host immune responses. We explored whether the gut microbiota and metabolome could explain variation in anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses in immunosuppressed IBD patients., Methods: Faecal and serum samples were prospectively collected from infliximab-treated patients with IBD in the CLARITY-IBD study undergoing vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Antibody responses were measured following two doses of either ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 vaccine. Patients were classified as having responses above or below the geometric mean of the wider CLARITY-IBD cohort. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and bile acid profiling with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) were performed on faecal samples. Univariate, multivariable and correlation analyses were performed to determine gut microbial and metabolomic predictors of response to vaccination., Findings: Forty-three infliximab-treated patients with IBD were recruited (30 Crohn's disease, 12 ulcerative colitis, 1 IBD-unclassified; 26 with concomitant thiopurine therapy). Eight patients had evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Seventeen patients (39.5%) had a serological response below the geometric mean. Gut microbiota diversity was lower in below average responders (p = 0.037). Bilophila abundance was associated with better serological response, while Streptococcus was associated with poorer response. The faecal metabolome was distinct between above and below average responders (OPLS-DA R 2 X 0.25, R 2 Y 0.26, Q 2 0.15; CV-ANOVA p = 0.038). Trimethylamine, isobutyrate and omega-muricholic acid were associated with better response, while succinate, phenylalanine, taurolithocholate and taurodeoxycholate were associated with poorer response., Interpretation: Our data suggest that there is an association between the gut microbiota and variable serological response to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in immunocompromised patients. Microbial metabolites including trimethylamine may be important in mitigating anti-TNF-induced attenuation of the immune response., Funding: JLA is the recipient of an NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship (CL-2019-21-502), funded by Imperial College London and The Joyce and Norman Freed Charitable Trust. BHM is the recipient of an NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship (CL-2019-21-002). The Division of Digestive Diseases at Imperial College London receives financial and infrastructure support from the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) based at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London. Metabolomics studies were performed at the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre at Imperial College London; this work was supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) (grant number MC&#95;PC&#95;12025) and infrastructure support was provided by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The NIHR Exeter Clinical Research Facility is a partnership between the University of Exeter Medical School College of Medicine and Health, and Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust. This project is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Exeter Clinical Research Facility. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK Department of Health and Social Care., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Dr Saifuddin has received travel expense support from Janssen. Dr Lin reports non-financial support from Pfizer, non-financial support from Ferring, outside the submitted work. Dr. Kennedy reports grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celgene, Celtrion, Galapagos, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Roche and Takeda, consulting fees from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Falk, Janssen, Mylan, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda and Tillotts, personal fees from Allergan, Celltrion, Falk, Ferring, Janssen, Pharmacosmos, Takeda, Tilllotts, Galapagos, and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Falk and Janssen outside the submitted work. Prof. Sebastian reports grants from Takeda, Abbvie, Tillots Pharma, Janssen, Pfizer, Biogen and personal fees from Takeda, Abbvie, Janssen, Pharmacocosmos, Biogen, Pfizer, Tillots Pharma and Falk Pharma, outside the submitted work. Dr Hart reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, AZ, Atlantic, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Falk, Galapogos, Janssen, MSD, Napp Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Shire and Takeda and Global Steering Committee for Genentech, support for attending meetings from Abbvie, Takeda and Janssen, and Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for AbbVie, AZ, Atlantic, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Galapogos, Janssen, Pfizer and Takeda. Prof. Lees reports a Future Leaders Fellow award from UKRI, personal consulting fees from Galapagos, Abbvie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, Iterative Scopes and institutional consulting fees from Trellus Health, personal fees from Galapagos, Abbvie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, GSK, Gilead, Fresnius Kabi, Ferring and Dr Falk, and support for attending meetings from Galapagos, Abbvie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, GSK, Gilead, Fresnius Kabi, Ferring and Dr Falk. Dr. Goodhand reports grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen Inc, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, non-financial support from Immundiagnostik, during the conduct of the study. Prof. Ahmad reports grant funding from Pfizer to his institution to deliver this study, grants from Celltrion, Roche, Takeda, Biogen and Galapagos and honoraria for lectures from Takeda and Roche, outside the submitted work. Dr Powell has received research grant(s) from Bristol Myers Squibb outside the submitted work. Dr. Powell reports personal fees from Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbvie, Roche, Lilly, Allergan, and Celgene, outside the submitted work; Dr. Powell has served as a speaker/advisory board member for Abbvie, Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Falk, Ferring, Janssen, Pfizer, Tillotts, Takeda and Vifor Pharma. The following authors have nothing to declare: Dr Alexander, Dr Ibraheim, Claire Bewshea, Rachel Nice, Dr Liu, Dr Mullish, Dr Danckert, Melissa Torkizadeh, Jesús Miguéns Blanco, Lauren A Roberts, Hemanth Prabhudev, Caroline Sands, Verena Horneffer-van der Sluis, Matthew Lewis, Professor Teare, Martin Olbei, Tamas Korcsmaros and Professor Marchesi., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: DNA methylation alterations may provide important insights into gene-environment interaction in cancer, aging, and complex diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aim first to determine whether the circulating DNA methylome in patients requiring surgery may predict Crohn's disease (CD) recurrence following intestinal resection; and second to compare the circulating methylome seen in patients with established CD with that we had reported in a series of inception cohorts., Methods: TOPPIC was a placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trial of 6-mercaptopurine at 29 UK centers in patients with CD undergoing ileocolic resection between 2008 and 2012. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples from 229 of the 240 patients taken before intestinal surgery and analyzed using 450KHumanMethylation and Infinium Omni Express Exome arrays (Illumina, San Diego, CA). Coprimary objectives were to determine whether methylation alterations may predict clinical disease recurrence; and to assess whether the epigenetic alterations previously reported in newly diagnosed IBD were present in the patients with CD recruited into the TOPPIC study. Differential methylation and variance analysis was performed comparing patients with and without clinical evidence of recurrence. Secondary analyses included investigation of methylation associations with smoking, genotype (MeQTLs), and chronologic age. Validation of our previously published case-control observation of the methylome was performed using historical control data (CD, n = 123; Control, n = 198)., Results: CD recurrence in patients following surgery is associated with 5 differentially methylated positions (Holm P < .05), including probes mapping to WHSC1 (P = 4.1 × 10 -9 , Holm P = .002) and EFNA3 (P = 4.9 × 10 -8 , Holm P = .02). Five differentially variable positions are demonstrated in the group of patients with evidence of disease recurrence including a probe mapping to MAD1L1 (P = 6.4 × 10 -5 ). DNA methylation clock analyses demonstrated significant age acceleration in CD compared with control subjects (GrimAge + 2 years; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.7 years), with some evidence for accelerated aging in patients with CD with disease recurrence following surgery (GrimAge +1.04 years; 95% confidence interval, -0.04 to 2.22). Significant methylation differences between CD cases and control subjects were seen by comparing this cohort in conjunction with previously published control data, including validation of our previously described differentially methylated positions (RPS6KA2 P = 1.2 × 10 -19 , SBNO2 = 1.2 × 10 -11 ) and regions (TXK [false discovery rate, P = 3.6 × 10 -14 ], WRAP73 [false discovery rate, P = 1.9 × 10 -9 ], VMP1 [false discovery rate, P = 1.7 × 10 -7 ], and ITGB2 [false discovery rate, P = 1.4 × 10 -7 ])., Conclusions: We demonstrate differential methylation and differentially variable methylation in patients developing clinical recurrence within 3 years of surgery. Moreover, we report replication of the CD-associated methylome, previously characterized only in adult and pediatric inception cohorts, in patients with medically refractory disease needing surgery., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ferric derisomaltose (FDI; Monofer) is used in clinical practice to treat iron deficiency, but the safety and efficacy of FDI has not been robustly evaluated in a large real-world study. This retrospective, multicentre, audit-based, observational study provides pragmatic information about safety and clinical responses with FDI across therapy areas and patient populations, helping to facilitate treatment decisions. Participating sites provided data from the medical records of adults who had received ≥ 1 FDI infusion. The primary outcome was the incidence of adverse reactions within 24 hours of the FDI infusion. Secondary outcomes included the change from baseline in haemoglobin and ferritin up to 12 months post infusion. In total, 19 sites provided data for a total of 7354 FDI-treated patients; 64.3% of patients were female, and 42.2% were aged ≥ 70 years. Surgery was the main hospital specialty (34.5%). The incidence of any recorded adverse reactions, hypersensitivity reactions, and anaphylaxis were 1.7%, 0.4%, and < 0.1%, respectively, regardless of baseline anaemia status. Statistically significant increases in haemoglobin and ferritin were observed between baseline and Month 4 following FDI treatment (p < 0.0001). Improvements in haemoglobin were more pronounced for hospital specialties where operative blood loss is expected (surgery/obstetrics) compared with those where blood loss is not expected. This study provides real-world clinical evidence for the low risk of adverse reactions with FDI across diverse patient populations, providing reassurance that intravenous iron is not associated with serious toxicity. These findings may inform changes in intravenous iron delivery to provide effective therapy to more patients in need., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to understand inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management during unexpected disruption. This could help to guide practice overall., Aims: To compare prescribing behaviour for IBD flares and outcomes during the early pandemic with pre-pandemic findings METHODS: We performed an observational cohort study comprising patients who contacted IBD teams for symptomatic flares between March and June 2020 in 60 National Health Service trusts in the United Kingdom. Data were compared with a pre-pandemic cohort after propensity-matching for age and physician global assessment of disease activity., Results: We included 1864 patients in each of the pandemic and pre-pandemic cohorts. The principal findings were reduced systemic corticosteroid prescription during the pandemic in Crohn's disease (prednisolone: pandemic 26.5% vs. 37.1%; p < 0.001) and ulcerative colitis (UC) (prednisolone: pandemic 33.5% vs. 40.7%, p < 0.001), with increases in poorly bioavailable oral corticosteroids in Crohn's (pandemic 15.6% vs. 6.8%; p < 0.001) and UC (pandemic 11.8% vs. 5.2%; p < 0.001). Ustekinumab (Crohn's and UC) and vedolizumab (UC) treatment also significantly increased. Three-month steroid-free remission in each period was similar in Crohn's (pandemic 28.4% vs. 32.1%; p = 0.17) and UC (pandemic 36.4% vs. 40.2%; p = 0.095). Patients experiencing a flare and suspected COVID-19 were more likely to have moderately-to-severely active disease at 3 months than those with a flare alone., Conclusions: Despite treatment adaptations during the pandemic, steroid-free outcomes were comparable with pre-pandemic levels, although concurrent flare and suspected COVID-19 caused worse outcomes. These findings have implications for IBD management during future pandemics and for standard practice., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Anti-drug antibodies are associated with treatment failure to anti-TNF agents in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)., Aim: To assess whether immunogenicity to a patient's first anti-TNF agent would be associated with immunogenicity to the second, irrespective of drug sequence METHODS: We conducted a UK-wide, multicentre, retrospective cohort study to report rates of immunogenicity and treatment failure of second anti-TNF therapies in 1058 patients with IBD who underwent therapeutic drug monitoring for both infliximab and adalimumab. The primary outcome was immunogenicity to the second anti-TNF agent, defined at any timepoint as an anti-TNF antibody concentration ≥9 AU/ml for infliximab and ≥6 AU/ml for adalimumab., Results: In patients treated with infliximab and then adalimumab, those who developed antibodies to infliximab were more likely to develop antibodies to adalimumab, than patients who did not develop antibodies to infliximab (OR 1.99, 95%CI 1.27-3.20, p = 0.002). Similarly, in patients treated with adalimumab and then infliximab, immunogenicity to adalimumab was associated with subsequent immunogenicity to infliximab (OR 2.63, 95%CI 1.46-4.80, p < 0.001). For each 10-fold increase in anti-infliximab and anti-adalimumab antibody concentration, the odds of subsequently developing antibodies to adalimumab and infliximab increased by 1.73 (95% CI 1.38-2.17, p < 0.001) and 1.99 (95%CI 1.34-2.99, p < 0.001), respectively. Patients who developed immunogenicity with undetectable drug levels to infliximab were more likely to develop immunogenicity with undetectable drug levels to adalimumab (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.39-4.19, p < 0.001). Commencing an immunomodulator at the time of switching to the second anti-TNF was associated with improved drug persistence in patients with immunogenic, but not pharmacodynamic failure., Conclusion: Irrespective of drug sequence, immunogenicity to the first anti-TNF agent was associated with immunogenicity to the second, which was mitigated by the introduction of an immunomodulator in patients with immunogenic, but not pharmacodynamic treatment failure., (© 2022 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: During illness, adaptations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis reduce energy expenditure, protein catabolism and modulate immune responses to promote survival. Lower serum free triiodothyronine-to-thyroxine (fT3/fT4) ratio has been linked to non-response to treatment in a range of diseases, including in biologic-treated patients with inflammatory bowel disease., Aim: To assess whether baseline serum fT3/fT4 ratio predicted primary non-response (PNR) and non-remission to infliximab and adalimumab in patients with Crohn's disease METHODS: Thyroid function tests were undertaken in stored serum from biologic-naïve adult patients with active luminal Crohn's disease immediately prior to treatment with infliximab (427 originator; 122 biosimilar) or adalimumab (448) in the Personalised Anti-TNF Therapy in Crohn's Disease study (PANTS)., Results: Baseline median [IQR] fT3/fT4 ratios were lower in women than men (0.30 [0.27-0.34] vs 0.32 [0.28-0.36], p < 0.001), in patients with more severe inflammatory disease, and in patients receiving corticosteroids (0.28 [0.25-0.33] vs. 0.32 [0.29-0.36], p < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that fT3/fT4 ratio was independently associated with PNR at week 14 (odds ratio [OR] 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31-0.85, p = 0.009), but not non-remission or changes in faecal calprotectin concentrations at week 54. The optimal threshold to determine PNR was 0.31 (area under the curve 0.57 [95% CI 0.54-0.61], sensitivity 0.62 [95% CI 0.41-0.74], and specificity 0.53 [95% CI 0.42-0.73])., Conclusions: Lower baseline serum fT3/fT4 ratio was associated with female sex, corticosteroid use and disease activity. It predicted PNR to anti-TNF treatment at week 14, but not non-remission at week 54., (© 2022 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background & Aims: Tools for stratification of relapse risk of Crohn's disease (CD) after anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy cessation are needed. We aimed to validate a previously developed prediction model from the diSconTinuation in CrOhn's disease patients in stable Remission on combined therapy with Immunosuppressants (STORI) trial, and to develop an updated model., Methods: Cohort studies were selected that reported on anti-TNF cessation in 30 or more CD patients in remission. Individual participant data were requested for luminal CD patients and anti-TNF treatment duration of 6 months or longer. The discriminative ability (concordance-statistic [C-statistic]) and calibration (agreement between observed and predicted risks) were explored for the STORI model. Next, an updated prognostic model was constructed, with performance assessment by cross-validation., Results: This individual participant data meta-analysis included 1317 patients from 14 studies in 11 countries. Relapses after anti-TNF cessation occurred in 632 of 1317 patients after a median of 13 months. The pooled 1-year relapse rate was 38%. The STORI prediction model showed poor discriminative ability (C-statistic, 0.51). The updated model reached a moderate discriminative ability (C-statistic, 0.59), and included clinical symptoms at cessation (hazard ratio [HR], 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-4), younger age at diagnosis (HR, 1.5 for A1 (age at diagnosis ≤16 years) vs A2 (age at diagnosis 17 - 40 years); 95% CI, 1.11-1.89), no concomitant immunosuppressants (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.18-172), smoking (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.15-1.67), second line anti-TNF (HR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.01-1.69), upper gastrointestinal tract involvement (HR, 1.3 for L4 vs non-L4; 95% CI, 0.96-1.79), adalimumab (HR, 1.22 vs infliximab; 95% CI, 0.99-1.50), age at cessation (HR, 1.2 per 10 years younger; 95% CI, 1-1.33), C-reactive protein (HR, 1.04 per doubling; 95% CI, 1.00-1.08), and longer disease duration (HR, 1.07 per 5 years; 95% CI, 0.98-1.17). In subanalysis, the discriminative ability of the model improved by adding fecal calprotectin (C-statistic, 0.63)., Conclusions: This updated prediction model showed a reasonable discriminative ability, exceeding the performance of a previously published model. It might be useful to guide clinical decisions on anti-TNF therapy cessation in CD patients after further validation., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Anti tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs increase the risk of serious respiratory infection and impair protective immunity following pneumococcal and influenza vaccination. Here we report SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced immune responses and breakthrough infections in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, who are treated either with the anti-TNF antibody, infliximab, or with vedolizumab targeting a gut-specific anti-integrin that does not impair systemic immunity. Geometric mean [SD] anti-S RBD antibody concentrations are lower and half-lives shorter in patients treated with infliximab than vedolizumab, following two doses of BNT162b2 (566.7 U/mL [6.2] vs 4555.3 U/mL [5.4], p <0.0001; 26.8 days [95% CI 26.2 - 27.5] vs 47.6 days [45.5 - 49.8], p <0.0001); similar results are also observed with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination (184.7 U/mL [5.0] vs 784.0 U/mL [3.5], p <0.0001; 35.9 days [34.9 - 36.8] vs 58.0 days [55.0 - 61.3], p value < 0.0001). One fifth of patients fail to mount a T cell response in both treatment groups. Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections are more frequent (5.8% (201/3441) vs 3.9% (66/1682), p = 0.0039) in patients treated with infliximab than vedolizumab, and the risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection is predicted by peak anti-S RBD antibody concentration after two vaccine doses. Irrespective of the treatments, higher, more sustained antibody levels are observed in patients with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to vaccination. Our results thus suggest that adapted vaccination schedules may be required to induce immunity in at-risk, anti-TNF-treated patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) traditionally requires inpatient hospital management for intravenous therapies and/or colectomy. Ambulatory ASUC care has not yet been evaluated in large cohorts., Aims: We used data from PROTECT, a UK multicentre observational COVID-19 inflammatory bowel disease study, to report the extent, safety and effectiveness of ASUC ambulatory pathways., Methods: Adults (≥18 years old) meeting Truelove and Witts criteria between 1 January 2019-1 June 2019 and 1 March 2020-30 June 2020 were recruited to PROTECT. We used demographic, disease phenotype, treatment outcomes and 3-month follow-up data. Primary outcome was rate of colectomy during the index ASUC episode. Secondary outcomes included corticosteroid response, time to and rate of rescue or primary induction therapy, response to rescue or primary induction therapy, time to colectomy, mortality, duration of inpatient treatment and hospital readmission and colectomy within 3 months of index flare. We compared outcomes in three cohorts: (1) patients treated entirely in inpatient setting; ambulatory patients subdivided into; (2) patients managed as ambulatory from diagnosis and (3) patients hospitalised and subsequently discharged to ambulatory care for continued intravenous steroids., Results: 37% (22/60) participating hospitals used ambulatory pathways. Of 764 eligible patients, 695 (91%) patients received entirely inpatient care, 15 (2%) patients were managed as ambulatory from diagnosis and 54 (7%) patients were discharged to ambulatory pathways. Aside from younger age in patients treated as ambulatory from diagnosis, no significant differences in disease or patient phenotype were observed. The rate of colectomy (15.0% (104/695) vs 13.3% (2/15) vs 13.0% (7/54), respectively, p=0.96) and secondary outcomes were similar among all three cohorts. Stool culture and flexible sigmoidoscopy were less frequently performed in ambulatory cohorts. Forty per cent of patients treated as ambulatory from diagnosis required subsequent hospital admission., Conclusions: In a post hoc analysis of one of the largest ASUC cohorts collected to date, we report an emerging UK ambulatory practice which challenges treatment paradigms. However, our analysis remains underpowered to detect key outcome measures and further studies exploring clinical and cost-effectiveness as well as patient and physician acceptability are needed., Trial Registration Number: NCT04411784., Competing Interests: Competing interests: SS holds research grants from Biogen, Takeda, AbbVie, Tillotts Pharma, Ferring and Biohit; served on the advisory boards of Takeda, AbbVie, Merck, Ferring, Pharmacocosmos, Warner Chilcott, Janssen, Falk Pharma, Biohit, TriGenix, Celgene and Tillots Pharma; and has received speaker fees from AbbVie, Biogen, AbbVie, Janssen, Merck, Warner Chilcott and Falk Pharma. GW has served as a speaker and/or advisory board member for AbbVie, Falk and Janssen. He has had support to attend meetings from AbbVie, Falk, Janssen and Norgine. His department has received research funding from Tillotts. NAK has served as a speaker and/or advisory board member for Allergan, Falk, Janssen, Mylan, Pharmacosmos, Takeda and Tillotts. He has had support to attend meetings from AbbVie, Falk, Janssen and Norgine. His department has received research funding from AbbVie, Celgene, Celtrion, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos and Takeda. SSu has received speaker fees from MSD, Actavis, Abbvie, Dr Falk pharmaceuticals, Shire and received educational grants from MSD, Abbvie, Actavis and is an advisory board member for Celltrion, Dr Falk pharmaceuticals and Vifor pharmaceuticals. CAL has received research support and/or has received fees for delivery of non-promotional education from: Genentech, Janssen, Takeda, Abbvie, Dr Falk, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Orion, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, Ferring, UCB and Biogen. MJBB has received research grants from Vifor International, Pharmacosmos and Tillots Pharma; has received speaker fee from Abbvie and Vifor International; has been an advisory board member for Tillots Pharma, Vifor International; and received travel/conference expenses from Vifor International, Abbvie and Tillots Pharma. AK has served on the advisory boards for Abbvie, Janssen and BMS Celgene and has received speaker fees from Takeda, Pfizer and Janssen; and received travel/conference expenses from Tillotts, Janssen, Abbvie and Shield Therapeutics. KVP has received honoraria for educational meetings and speaker fees from Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, DrFalk and Ferring. KVP has received Advisory Board fees from Abbvie and Janssen., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Gut dysmotility is associated with constipation, diarrhea, and functional gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), although its molecular underpinnings are poorly characterized. We studied stool frequency (defined by the number of bowel movements per day, based on questionnaire data) as a proxy for gut motility in a GWAS meta-analysis including 167,875 individuals from UK Biobank and four smaller population-based cohorts. We identify 14 loci associated with stool frequency (p ≤ 5.0 × 10 -8 ). Gene set and pathway analyses detected enrichment for genes involved in neurotransmitter/neuropeptide signaling and preferentially expressed in enteric motor neurons controlling peristalsis. PheWAS identified pleiotropic associations with dysmotility syndromes and the response to their pharmacological treatment. The genetic architecture of stool frequency correlates with that of IBS, and UK Biobank participants from the top 1% of stool frequency polygenic score distribution were associated with 5× higher risk of IBS with diarrhea. These findings pave the way for the identification of actionable pathological mechanisms in IBS and the dysmotility syndromes., Competing Interests: A.R. is a founder and equity holder of Celsius Therapeutics, an equity holder in Immunitas Therapeutics, and, until August 31, 2020, was a scientific advisory board member of Syros Pharmaceuticals, Neogene Therapeutics, Asimov, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. A.R. is a member of the journal advisory board. From August 1, 2020, A.R. is an employee of Genentech., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Background: Increase in lipid levels associated with the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has previously been reported. However, it is unknown if this effect is similar for all IBD drug classes., Aim: To precisely assess the effect of different IBD drug classes on lipid profiles METHODS: We performed a systematic literature search of randomised controlled trials and observational cohort studies that assessed lipid levels before and after induction (≤10 weeks) and maintenance (>10 weeks) of IBD treatment. Data of 11 studies (1663 patients) were pooled using random effects models. The influence of patient and disease characteristics on treatment effects on total cholesterol levels was analysed in 6 studies (1211 patients) for which individual data were available, using linear mixed models., Results: A statistically significant increase in total cholesterol was observed after induction treatment with corticosteroids (+1.19 mmol/L, 95% confidence interval [CI 95 ] +0.52 to +2.59), and tofacitinib (+0.66 mmol/L, CI 95 +0.42 to +0.79), but not after anti-TNFα treatment (-0.11 mmol/L, CI 95 -0.26 to +0.36 mmol/L). Similar differences were observed after maintenance treatment. Treatment effects were significantly related to age, but not with other factors. Lipid changes were inversely correlated with but not modified by CRP changes., Conclusions: Increase in total cholesterol levels was strongest for corticosteroids followed by tofacitinib but was not observed for anti-TNFα agents. Whether total cholesterol change associated with IBD treatment has an effect on cardiovascular risk requires further study., (© 2021 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: Hypophosphataemia is an increasingly recognized side-effect of ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) and possibly iron isomaltoside/ferric derisomaltose (IIM), which are used to treat iron deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine frequency, severity, duration and risk factors of incident hypophosphataemia after treatment with FCM and IIM., Methods: A systematic literature search for articles indexed in EMBASE, PubMed and Web of Science in years 2005-2020 was carried out using the search terms 'ferric carboxymaltose' OR 'iron isomaltoside'. Prospective clinical trials reporting outcomes on hypophosphataemia rate, mean nadir serum phosphate and/or change in mean serum phosphate from baseline were selected. Hypophosphataemia rate and severity were compared for studies on IIM vs. FCM after stratification for chronic kidney disease. Meta-regression analysis was used to investigate risk factors for hypophosphataemia., Results: Across the 42 clinical trials included in the meta-analysis, FCM induced a significantly higher incidence of hypophosphataemia than IIM (47%, 95% CI 36-58% vs. 4%, 95% CI 2-5%), and significantly greater mean decreases in serum phosphate (0.40 vs. 0.06 mmol/L). Hypophosphataemia persisted at the end of the study periods (maximum 3 months) in up to 45% of patients treated with FCM. Meta-regression analysis identified low baseline serum ferritin and transferrin saturation, and normal kidney function as significant predictors of hypophosphataemia., Conclusion: FCM is associated with a high risk of hypophosphataemia, which does not resolve for at least 3 months in a large proportion of affected patients. More severe iron deficiency and normal kidney function are risk factors for hypophosphataemia., (© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.)

Background: When used proactively, drug-tolerant anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antibody assays provide early opportunity to suppress immunogenicity., Aim: To validate positivity thresholds of IDKmonitor drug-tolerant anti-infliximab and -adalimumab antibody assays., Methods: We applied positivity thresholds, defined by testing sera from 498 anti-TNF naive healthy adults, from the Exeter Ten Thousand study to data from our therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) service and Personalised Anti-TNF Therapy in Crohn's disease (PANTS) cohort to explore associations with drug level and treatment outcomes., Results: The 80% one-sided lower confidence interval of the 99th centile concentration for anti-infliximab and -adalimumab antibodies were lower than the manufacturers threshold of 10 arbitrary units (AU)/mL; 9 and 6 AU/mL, respectively. Using these new thresholds in the TDM cohort, more adalimumab- than infliximab- (11.2% [814/7272] vs 3.1% [390/12 683] P < 0.0001) treated patients were reclassified as antibody-positive. Adalimumab drug concentrations in this reclassified group (median 8.1, interquartile range [IQR] 5.5-11.0 mg/L) were lower than those below the new threshold (<5AU/mL) (median 9.9, IQR 7.1-13.0 mg/L; P < 0.0001), but higher than at the manufacturer's threshold (10-29 AU/mL) (median 5.9 mg/L, IQR 3.5-8.7; P < 0.0001). No difference in infliximab drug concentration was observed using the new or manufacturer's positivity threshold (P = 0.11). In the PANTS cohort, patients with anti-adalimumab antibody concentrations at or above the new threshold were more likely to be in primary non-response (25/68 [37%] vs. 64/332 [19%], P = 0.0035), and non-remission at week 54 (51/62 [82%] vs. 168/279 [60%], P = 0.0011), than patients with anti-drug antibody concentrations in the group below the new threshold (0-5 AU/mL); this was not seen for anti-infliximab antibodies., Conclusion: Laboratories should derive antibody positivity thresholds for assays they use. For adalimumab, low-concentration anti-drug antibodies were associated with lower drug levels and treatment failure., (© 2020 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Colonoscopic surveillance in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) leads to earlier detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) and reduces CRC-associated mortality. However, it is limited by poor adherence in practice., Aim: To identify missed opportunities to detect IBD-associated CRC at our hospital METHODS: We undertook root-cause analyses to identify patients with missed opportunities to diagnose IBD-associated CRC. We matched patients with IBD-associated CRC to patients with CRC in the general population to identify differences in staging at diagnosis and clinical outcomes., Results: Compared with the general population, patients with IBD were at increased risk of developing CRC (odds ratio 2.7 [95% CI 1.6-3.9], P < 0.001). The mean incidence of IBD-associated CRC between 1998 and 2019 was 165.4 (IQR 130.4-199.4) per 100 000 patients and has not changed over the last 20 years. Seventy-eight patients had IBD-associated CRC. Forty-two (54%) patients were eligible for CRC surveillance: 12% (5/42) and 10% (4/42) patients were diagnosed with CRC at an appropriately timed or overdue surveillance colonoscopy, respectively. Interval cancers occurred in 14% (6/42) of patients; 64% (27/42) of patients had a missed opportunity for colonoscopic surveillance where root-cause analyses demonstrated that 10/27 (37%) patients known to secondary care had not been offered surveillance. Four (15%) patients had a delayed diagnosis of CRC due to failure to account for previous colonoscopic findings. Seventeen (63%) patients were managed by primary care including seven patients discharged from secondary care without a surveillance plan. Matched case-control analysis did not show significant differences in cancer staging or 10-year survival outcomes., Conclusion: The incidence of IBD-associated CRC has remained static. Two-thirds of patients eligible for colonoscopic surveillance had missed opportunities to diagnose CRC. Surveillance programmes without comprehensive and fully integrated recall systems across primary and secondary care are set to fail., (© 2020 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)