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Background. Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are chronic inflammatory granulomatous disorders that have rarely been concomitantly reported in case reports and small case series. Objective. We report a series of seven cases of TA and IBD association in two referral centers with a comprehensive review of literature. Methods. We analyzed retrospectively the electronic medical charts of TA-IBD patients at the University Hospital of São Paulo, Brazil, and at the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Aviv University, Israel. Results. Overall, five patients had Crohn’s disease (DC) and two had ulcerative colitis (UC), and they were mostly female and non-Asian. All patients developed IBD first and, subsequently, TA. Two underwent colectomy and one ileocecectomy due to IBD activity, while three required cardiovascular surgery due to TA activity. Most patients are currently in clinical remission of both diseases with conventional drug treatment. Conclusion. Although the coexistence of TA and IBD is uncommon, both seem to be strongly associated through pathophysiological pathways.

Background Analysis of the Twitter activity on #Crohn’s, identifying individuals with interest in Crohn’s disease on Twitter. Methods A historic cohort study was conducted about Twitter activity evaluation of #Crohn’s analyzed over a period of 9 years. For the Twitter analysis, a health-care social media analytics tool, Symplur Signals, was adopted. Results From 2011 until 2019, 627,000 tweets of #Crohn’s were detected, with 276,380 retweets by 109,937 users; of these users, 32.4% were patient advocates and 12.6% were doctors. There was a pattern of annual peak activity of the #Crohn’s, mainly in May and December, and less activity, usually in July. Of all tweets, 52.5% were categorized as positive and 47.5% as negative. Conclusions Social media, especially Twitter, represents an important information tool, but it is still underutilized by gastroenterologists. This study suggests a significant interference of international awareness campaigns about inflammatory bowel disease in the activity of #Crohn’s on Twitter, denoting an increase in debating this topic on the platform. Discussions on the subject by health professionals are still below expectations regarding the importance of the theme.

Background Crohn’s disease (CD) has a considerable impact on quality of life and contributes to the onset of depressive symptoms¹. It has been demonstrated that depression is more prevalent in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients compared to the general population². However, whether depression affects IBD course or the onset of IBD triggers psychological disorders remains to be elucidated. The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of major depression in patients with CD and to evaluate its relationship with the clinical activity and phenotype of the disease. Methods From November 2019 to February 2020, 283 patients with CD were evaluated using the Patient Heath Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Major depression (MD) was defined by PHQ-9 ≥ 10 (0–4: absent depressive symptoms / 5–9: mild depressive symptoms / 10–14: moderate depressive symptoms / 14- 27: severe depressive symptoms). Data regarding socio-demographic characteristics, disease phenotype, clinical activity were prospective collected. Disease phenotype was characterized according to the Montreal classification and clinical activity was assessed using the Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI). Statistical tests were performed with a 5% significance level. Results The prevalence of MD in CD patients was 41.7% (Table 1). Female patients were more susceptible to MD (Table 2). Other socio-demographic characteristics did not increase the risk of MD. Disease activity was significantly associated with an increased risk of MD (Odds Ratio [OR] 795.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 133.7–4738.78, p Conclusion Our study shows a high prevalence of MD among CD patients, which is significantly affected by disease phenotype and clinical activity. Given that the ultimate therapeutic goals for CD should include restoration of quality of life, this study shed light on the need of the inclusion of psychological assessment besides the objective measures of disease activity as an integral part of IBD care.

Patient: Male, 63-year-old Final Diagnosis: Spontaneous knot formation in central venous catheter Symptoms: Central venous catheter whit any flow • associated with pain at the insertion site of the access Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Central venous catheterization Specialty: General and Internal Medicine • Surgery Objective: Challenging differential diagnosis Background: Central venous catheterization (CVC) is indispensable in the management of critically ill patients in the emergency room and intensive care units, either to avoid the various peripheral punctures and vasoactive drugs administration in decompensated patients, or even to administer parenteral nutrition. CVC is an invasive procedure with possible mechanical, infectious, and thrombotic complications. The complete knotting of a catheter is a rare complication. The aim of this study is to report a case of a simple tight knot 2 cm from the catheter tip. We provide insights for early identification of catheter knotting, as well as its management. Case Report: A 63-year-old man with a previous history of angioplasty and non-pharmacological coronary stent in a marginal branch of the circumflex coronary artery evolved to junctional bradycardia and cardiogenic shock and was transferred to the reference hospital. He had a CVC inserted in the right jugular vein; however, it did not have any blood flow. The hypothesis of catheter knotting was suggested and confirmed through a chest X-ray. Venotomy was performed and it was successfully removed. Conclusions: Knotting in CVC obstruction is a rare complication. Recognition of this complication is essential to avoid major complications, such as catheter fragmentation and venous injury. Radiological follow-up after the procedure in patients with difficult anatomy is essential, and echo-guided catheterization should be encouraged when available. Despite the rarity of a knotted intravascular catheter, it is important to note this possible late complication that must be considered in the absence of catheter blood flow.

Background Perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease (PFCD) is the main risk factor for anal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. It is not known whether this occurs due to a higher frequency of human papillomavirus (HPV) in this population or due to the chronic inflammatory condition resulting from perianal fistulas. We aimed to evaluate whether there is a higher prevalence of HPV and high-risk HPV in patients with PFCD compared to the control group, estimate the prevalence of HPV and the subtypes most frequently associated with PFCD. Methods We performed a bicentric cross sectional study in which participants were matched by age and sex. A total of 108 patients with surgical indication for perianal fistula, were recruited, 54 patients in PFCD group and 54 patients with anorectal fistula without Crohn’s disease, from December 2018 through November 2020. These patients were subject to histological material collection during exam under anesthesia with biopsy of the fistulous pathway. The sample was sent for HPV detection and genotyping by INNO-LiPA HPV Genotyping Extra II. Results The PFCD group showed a statistically higher frequency of HPV in the fistulous path compared to control group (33.3% vs 16.7%, p = 0.046). The isolated analysis of the high-risk subtypes numerically demonstrated double the frequency in PFCD group, however, not statistically significant (18.5% vs 9.3%, p = 0.164). After multiple logistic regressions, patients with PFCD had a chance of HPV 3.42 times higher than patients without Crohn’s disease (OR = 3.42, 95% CI, 1.25–9.40), regardless of other variables. The subtypes most frequently identified in PFCD group were HPV11 (12.72%) and HPV16 (9.09%). Conclusion Perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease is associated with a higher prevalence of HPV compared to patients with anorectal fistula without Crohn’s disease.