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BACKGROUND: Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who lack traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, such as young females, are observed to experience adverse CVD outcomes. Whether women with IBD have increased CVD risk after the menopause transition is unclear. METHODS: We conducted a survival analysis of Womens Health Initiative (WHI) participants and excluded those with missing IBD diagnosis, model covariate data, follow-up data, or a baseline history of the following CVD outcomes: coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic stroke, venous thromboembolism (VTE), peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Risk of outcomes between IBD and non-IBD women was performed using Cox proportional hazard models, stratified by WHI trial and follow-up. Models were adjusted for age, socio-demographics, comorbidities (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, etc.), family history, and lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol, physical activity, body mass index, etc.). RESULTS: Of 134,022 WHI participants meeting inclusion criteria, 1367 (1.0%) reported IBD at baseline. Mean baseline age was 63.4 years. After adjusting for age and other confounders, no significant difference was observed between IBD and non-IBD women for the risk of CHD (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.73-1.24), VTE (HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.81-1.52) or PAD (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.28-1.42). After adjusting for age, risk of ischemic stroke was significantly higher (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.06-1.88) in IBD than non-IBD women. With further adjustment, the excess risk of ischemic stroke among IBD women was attenuated and no longer statistically significant (HR 1.31, 95% CI 0.98-1.76). CONCLUSIONS: Among postmenopausal women with IBD, risk of ischemic stroke may be higher than in non-IBD women.

Background Despite major advances in the medical management of Crohn's disease (CD), a significant proportion of patients will require surgery within 5 years of diagnosis. Malnutrition is an independent risk factor for adverse post-operative outcomes following gastrointestinal surgery. Data on the value of pre-operative total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in CD patients are mixed and there is a paucity of data in the biologic era. We aimed to define the role of pre-operative TPN in this population. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at a tertiary referral center. CD patients who underwent major abdominal surgery were identified. Patients receiving pre-operative TPN were compared to controls. We compared the incidence of 30-day infectious and non-infectious post-operative complications between the two groups. Results A total of 144 CD patients who underwent major abdominal surgery between March 2007 and March 2017 were included. Fifty-five patients who received pre-operative TPN were compared to 89 controls. Twenty-one (14.6%) patients developed infectious complications (18.2% in TPN group vs 12.3% in non-TPN group, P  =   0.34) and 23 (15.9%) developed non-infectious complications (14.5% in TPN group vs 16.9% in non-TPN group, P  =   0.71). In a multivariate analysis, controlling for differences in baseline disease severity and malnutrition between groups, patients receiving pre-operative TPN for ≥60 days had significantly lower odds of developing non-infectious complications (odds ratio 0.07, 95% confidence interval: 0.01–0.80, P  =   0.03). Weight loss of >10% in the past 6 months was a significant predictor of post-operative complications. Conclusions In a subset of malnourished CD patients, TPN is safe and allows comparable operative outcomes to controls. Pre-operative TPN for ≥60 days reduced post-operative non-infectious complications without associated increase in infectious complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Biases in healthcare pose challenges for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients from underrepresented races and ethnicities. Our study aimed to assess the quality of and access to care among underrepresented racial and ethnic populations using a diverse database., Methods: We used the OneFlorida Data Trust, representing over half of Florida's population. We performed a retrospective study from 2012 to 2020. Advanced IBD therapies included a prescription of at least 1 biologic agent or tofacitinib. Disease activity markers included C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin (Hgb), albumin, and white blood cell (WBC). Regression analyses compared the rates of medication use, healthcare utilization, and disease severity by race and ethnicity. Geographic distribution of advanced IBD therapy was analyzed at the county level., Results: Our study included 10 578 patients. Hispanic patients utilized more biologics than non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients (odds ratio [OR]: 1.3, P < .0001). Non-Hispanic Black patients utilized more steroids than NHW (OR: 1.2, P = .0004). Hispanics had fewer visits to emergency departments (EDs) and fewer admissions compared with NHW (OR: 0.7 and 0.6, respectively; P < .0001). Non-Hispanic Black patients visited ED more frequently than NHW patients (OR: 1.3, P < .0001). Hispanics had lower disease activity markers than NHW based on CRP (OR: 0.5, P = .005), Hgb (OR: 0.4, P < .0001), albumin (OR: 0.7, P < .0001), and WBC (OR: 0.5, P < .0001). Geographic distribution of advanced IBD therapy showed clustered areas in southern and northern Florida., Conclusions: Our data show an improved access to care pattern in Hispanic patients. However, disparities still exist, and this is evident in the healthcare utilization trends observed among non-Hispanic Black patients., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Pancreatitis complicating HIV infection, even in the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) era, remains a management challenge. We felt there is a need to discern patterns in the biochemical markers, radiological studies, co-infections, length of stay (LOS) in patients with HIV or AIDS AND pancreatitis., Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted from June, 2008 to August, 2010 on patients admitted with acute pancreatitis to our hospital. We extracted and compared the following parameters: biochemical markers, HBV markers (surface antigen, core antibody and surface antibody), HCV antibody, radiological studies, and length of stay (LOS). The Balthazar Grade score was used to assess radiological severity of disease. We stratified the cohort into comparison subsets according to CD4 count., Results: Ninety-four admissions met the criteria for HIV or AIDS AND pancreatitis; 67 unique patients comprised the cohort. Median age was 48 years (range, 23 to 60 years). Thirty seven (55%) were male, 30 (45%), female. Two third (n = 51) (76%) were African American. Known risk factors included a history of pancreatitis, 17 (25%); cholecystitis, 13 (19%); alcohol abuse, 25 (37%); Intravenous drug abuse, 18 (27%). Only 36 (38%) admissions were on HAART regimen. Biochemical features on admission were: WBC, 6,100/mm(3) (900 - 25,700); amylase, 152 U/L (30 - 1,344); lipase, 702.5 U/L (30 - 5,766), triglyceride, 65 mg/dL (57 - 400); glucose, 94 mg/dL (60 - 1,670); lactate, 2.3 mmol/L (1.09 - 5.49); AST, 61.5 U/L (9 - 1,950); LDH, 762 U/L (394 - 5,500); bicarbonate 19.5 mEq/L (3.3 - 82.7). Interestingly, 62% patients had normal pancreas on CT scan on admission. Of 67 individuals, hepatitis profile was available in 43, 21 (49%) were positive for HCV, 11 (26%) had markers for HBV. Four of 11 patients (36) with CD4 < 50 had evidence of persistent HBV (+core, -surface ab). Patients with CD4 < 200 have a median time for hospital course of 8 days (range 4 - 61 days) compare to 3 days in patients with CD4 > 200. P = 0.03 via t-test comparison. One patient with CD4 < 50 died due to acute pancreatitis., Conclusion: Pancreatitis remains a major cause of morbidity in HIV-infected individuals. This study has provided detailed features in the HAART therapy era about the clinical, biochemical and radiological features of pancreatitis. Half of our patients were positive for HCV; additionally, 36% with CD4 < 50 had persistent HBV. As opposed to earlier studies, we did not find a female predominance. Patients with CD4 < 200 had a 2.67-fold increase length of stay. Future studies are needed for a closer look on viral cofactors which might precipitate episodes of acute pancreatitis.