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BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate the C-reactive protein-to-albumin (CRP/albumin) ratio at diagnosis of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). MATERIAL AND METHODS Serum CRP/albumin ratio was calculated for patients with Crohn's disease (CD; n=186) and ulcerative colitis (UC; n=159) aged 3-18 years. RESULTS Patients with CD differed in CRP/albumin ratio at diagnosis in groups with quiescent, mild, moderate, and severe disease (P=0.011). CRP/albumin ratio at diagnosis was significant in differentiating patients with severe CD from quiescent disease at diagnosis (area under the curve (AUC)=0.94, odds ratio (OR)=63.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.1-569.1, P0.0001). CRP/albumin ratio at diagnosis could moderately differentiate penetrating from non-penetrating disease behavior in CD at diagnosis (AUC=0.73, OR=6.3, 95% CI 2.0-19.3, P0.001). Furthermore, CRP/albumin ratio at diagnosis weakly differentiated IBD patients in need of biological treatment in a step-up procedure (AUC=0.58, OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.4, P=0.022) and in need of surgery (AUC=0.63, OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.4-7.2, P=0.006). For the IBD, CRP/albumin ratio at diagnosis was weakly correlated with age at first immunosuppressive treatment (rho=0.20, P=0.018), time from diagnosis to first biological treatment (rho=-0.37, P0.001), days spent in hospital (rho=0.26, P=0.007), number of severe relapses (rho=0.31, P=0.001), and Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (rho=0.38, P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS The present findings add to previous studies carried out in adult patients and show that the CRP/albumin ratio at diagnosis was not significantly associated with the course of either CD or UC in children. However, CRP/albumin ratio could differentiate patients with severe CD from those with quiescent disease.

It has been suggested that short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) enemas might improve clinical, endoscopic and histological scores in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, despite the promising results of in vitro studies, the findings of animal studies and randomised controlled trials are inconclusive. Therefore, this review aimed to assess the efficacy of SCFA enemas in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. Electronic searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane databases. Original studies were included in this systematic review if they met the following inclusion criteria: 1) types of studies: parallel or crossover randomised controlled trials; 2) language: articles published in English; 3) types of interventions: SCFA enemas; 4) population: studies conducted in subjects with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease of either gender and any age and without restrictions based on the ethnicity of study participants, location of study or sample size. The outcomes included the effect of SCFA enemas on disease activity index (DAI), endoscopic and histological scores. In total, four studies enrolling 187 patients with inflammatory bowel diseases were included in this systematic review. Two studies assessed the effect of SCFA enemas on DAI. Four studies evaluated the effect of SCFA therapy on the endoscopic score and the histological score. There were no significant differences between the SCFA groups and the control groups regarding the impact on any analysed parameter. Two studies demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in DAI after the intervention period, both in the SCFA groups and the control groups. Similarly, statistically significant differences between pre- and post-intervention endoscopic scores in the SCFA groups were reported in four studies. However, in three studies, a similar effect was demonstrated in the control groups. Besides, in three studies no effect of SCFA enemas on the histological score was observed. In conclusion, there is no evidence for the effectiveness of SCFA enemas in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Although big data from transcriptomic analyses have helped transform our understanding of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), they remain underexploited. We hypothesized that the application of machine learning using lasso regression to transcriptomic data from IBD patients and controls can help identify previously overlooked genes. Transcriptomic data provided by Ostrowski et al. (ENA PRJEB28822) were subjected to a two-stage process of feature selection to discriminate between IBD and controls. First, a principal component analysis was used for dimensionality reduction. Second, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) regression was employed to identify genes potentially involved in the pathobiology of IBD. The study included data from 294 participants: 100 with ulcerative colitis (48 adults and 52 children), 99 with Crohn’s disease (45 adults and 54 children), and 95 controls (46 adults and 49 children). IBD patients presented a wide range of disease severity. Lasso regression preceded by principal component analysis successfully selected interesting features in the IBD transcriptomic data and yielded 12 models. The models achieved high discriminatory value (range of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.61–0.95) and identified over 100 genes as potentially associated with IBD. PURA, GALNT14, and FCGR1A were the most consistently selected, highlighting the role of the cell cycle, glycosylation, and immunoglobulin binding. Several known IBD-related genes were among the results. The results included genes involved in the TGF-beta pathway, expressed in NK cells, and they were enriched in ontology terms related to immunity. Future IBD research should emphasize the TGF-beta pathway, immunoglobulins, NK cells, and the role of glycosylation.

We hypothezied that telomere length is considerably altered in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients compared to healthy subjects (HS), and that leukocyte telomere length variation reflects the severity of CF. Relative telomere length (RTL) was assessed by qPCR in 70 children aged 5–10 (34 CF, 36 HS) and 114 adults aged 18–45 (53 CF, 61 HS). Telomere length was similar in CF and HS (median (interquartile range): 0.799 (0.686–0.950) vs. 0.831 (0.707–0.986), p = 0.5283) both in children and adults. In adults, women had longer telomeres than men (0.805 (0.715–0.931) vs. 0.703 (0.574–0.790), p = 0.0002). Patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids had a shorter RTL compared to those without steroid therapy (0.765 (0.664–0.910) vs. 0.943 (0.813–1.191), p = 0.0007) and this finding remained significant after adjusting for gender, age, BMI, and child/adult status (p = 0.0003). Shorter telomeres were independently associated with the presence of comorbidities (0.763 (0.643–0.905) vs. 0.950 (0.783–1.130), p = 0.0006) and antibiotic treatment at the moment of blood sampling (0.762 (0.648–0.908) vs. 0.832 (0.748–1.129), p = 0.0172). RTL correlated with number of multiple-day hospitalizations (rho = −0.251, p = 0.0239), as well as number of hospitalization days (rho = −0.279, p = 0.0113). Leukocyte RTL in children and adults with CF was not shorter than in healthy controls, and did not seem to have any potential as a predictor of CF survival. However, it inversely associated with the investigated clinical characteristics.

No gold standard is available to evaluate subjective psychophysical experiences in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to assess pain, anxiety, and limitations in social activities at diagnosis and the worst flare of the disease in relation to clinical expression, treatment and IBD severity. A total of 376 children completed the survey (Crohn&rsquo, s disease (CD) n = 196, ulcerative colitis (UC) n = 180). The questionnaire included 12 questions regarding pain, anxiety, and social activity, all assessed at recruitment and retrospectively at diagnosis and worst flare using a numeric rating scale. Patients that had ever been treated with systemic glucocorticosteroids scored higher in pain (p &lt, 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.015), and social activity domains (p &lt, 0.016) at worst flare, and the answers correlated with the number of steroid courses (p &lt, 0.0392). The perception of social activity limitations also correlated independently with the number of immunosuppressants (p &lt, 0.0433) and biological agents (p &lt, 0.0494). There was no difference in retrospective perception of pain, anxiety and social activity limitations between CD and UC patients at diagnosis and the worst flare. The level of limitations in social activity correlated with hospitalisations due to relapse, days spent in the hospital, number of relapses, and severe relapses with the strongest association of rho = 0.39 (p = 0.0004). Subjective and retrospective perception of pain, anxiety, and limitations in social activity differs depending on therapy, correlates with treatment modalities, and severity measures such as hospitalisations.

This study was to investigate whether the clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a Polish paediatric cohort fits a seasonal pattern and depends on insolation. Two hundred and fourteen patients diagnosed with Crohn&rsquo, s disease (CD) and 192 with ulcerative colitis (UC) aged from 3 to 18 years, were recruited in seven centres of similar latitude. The seasons were defined as winter (December&ndash, February), spring (March&ndash, May), summer (June&ndash, August), autumn (September&ndash, November). The year was also divided depending on insolation threshold (3.0 kWh/m2/day). Patients diagnosed with IBD when the isolation was &gt, 3 kWh/m2/day had poorer nutritional status than those diagnosed while insolation was below threshold (lower standardised BMI at diagnosis (&minus, 0.81 ([&minus, 1.34]&ndash, [&minus, 0.03]) vs. &minus, 0.52 ([&minus, 1.15]&ndash, 0.15), p = 0.0320) and worst flare (&minus, 0.93 ([&minus, 1.37]&ndash, 0.05]) vs. &minus, 0.66 ([&minus, 1.23]&ndash, 0.17), p = 0.0344), with the need for more frequent biological treatment (45.5% vs. 32.7%, p = 0.0100). Patients diagnosed in winter were significantly younger at diagnosis (11.4 vs. 13.0, padj = 0.0180) and first immunosuppressive treatment (11.3 vs. 13.3, padj = 0.0109) than those diagnosed in other seasons. CD patients diagnosed in months with higher insolation spent more days in hospital than those diagnosed in months with lower insolation [4.6 (1.8&ndash, 11.8) vs. 2.9 (1.3&ndash, 6.2), p = 0.0482]. CD patients diagnosed in summer had significantly more concomitant diseases. In patients with CD, the occurrence of the worst flare was more frequent in autumn. Furthermore, the season of birth was associated with Pediatric Crohn&rsquo, s Disease Activity Index at worst flare and earlier surgery. In conclusion, several clinical parameters are associated with insolation, the season of diagnosis and season of birth in the clinical course of Crohn&rsquo, s disease.

Background It has been suggested that apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphisms are associated with the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the early age of disease onset. However, there are no reports regarding the relationship with clinical characteristics and disease severity. Aim To summarise that APOE polymorphisms are associated with the risk of developing IBD and the early age of disease onset. Methods In total, 406 patients aged 3-18 with IBD (192 had ulcerative colitis and 214 had Crohn's disease) were genotyped using the TaqMan hydrolysis probe assay. Clinical expression was described at diagnosis and the worst flare by disease activity scales, albumin and C-reactive protein levels, localisation and behaviour (Paris classification). Systemic steroid intake with the total number of courses, immunosuppressive, biological, and surgical treatment with the time and age of the first intervention were determined. The total number of exacerbation-caused hospitalisations, the number of days spent in hospital due to exacerbation, the number of relapses, and severe relapses were also estimated. Results Ulcerative colitis patients with the APOEe4 allele had lower C-reactive protein values at diagnosis (P = 0.0435) and the worst flare (P = 0.0013) compared to patients with the APOEe2 allele and genotype APOEe3/e3. Crohn's disease patients with the APOEe2 allele scored lower on the Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index at diagnosis (P = 0.0204). IBD patients with APOEe2 allele spent fewer days in the hospital due to relapse (P = 0.0440). Conclusion APOE polymorphisms are associated with the risk of developing IBD and the clinical expression of IBD. However, the clinical relevance of the differences identified is rather modest.

Deleted in malignant brain tumours 1 protein (DMBT1) and surfactant protein D (SFTPD) are antimicrobial peptides previously linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) susceptibility. This study attempts to link the most potential IBD-associated polymorphisms in DMBT1 and SFTPD with the disease severity in children. A total of 406 IBD patients (Crohn’s disease (CD) n = 214 and ulcerative colitis (UC) n = 192) were genotyped using hydrolysis probe assay. Clinical expression was described by disease activity scales, albumin and C-reactive protein levels, localisation and behaviour (Paris classification), systemic steroid, immunosuppressive, biological, and surgical treatment, number of exacerbation-caused hospitalisations, relapses and nutritional status. IBD patients with the risk genotype (AA) in DMBT1 rs2981804 had more frequent biological treatment (AA: vs. AG/GG, p = 0.012), concomitant diseases (AA vs. AG vs. GG, p = 0.015) and cutaneous manifestations (AA vs. AG/GG, p = 0.008). In UC, rs2981804 genotypes might be linked with albumin concentrations at diagnosis (AA vs. AG vs. GG, p = 0.009). In CD, DMBT1 rs2981745 was significantly associated with the number of severe relapses per year of disease (p = 0.020) and time-to-immunosuppression (p = 0.045). SFTPD was seemingly found to be associated with age at first immunosuppression in IBD (CC vs. CT vs. TT, p = 0.048). In conclusion, selected polymorphisms of DMBT1 and SFTPD might be associated with some disease severity measures in children with IBD. However, the magnitude of associations and their clinical relevance might be minor.