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The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder of gut-brain interaction. IBS is still associated with areas of uncertainties, especially regarding the optimal diagnostic work-up and the more appropriate management. Experts from 7 Italian Societies conducted a Delphi consensus with literature summary and voting process on 27 statements. Recommendations and quality of evidence were evaluated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Consensus was defined as >80% agreement and reached for all statements. In terms of diagnosis, the consensus supports a positive diagnostic strategy with a symptom-based approach, including the psychological comorbidities assessment and the exclusion of alarm symptoms, together with the digital rectal examination, full blood count, C-reactive protein, serology for coeliac disease, and fecal calprotectin assessment. Colonoscopy should be recommended in patients with alarm features. Regarding treatment, the consensus strongly supports a dietary approach for patients with IBS, the use of soluble fiber, secretagogues, tricyclic antidepressants, psychologically directed therapies and, only in specific IBS subtypes, rifaximin. A conditional recommendation was achieved for probiotics, polyethylene glycol, antispasmodics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and, only in specific IBS subtypes, 5-HT3 antagonists, 5-HT4 agonists, bile acid sequestrants., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The following authors declare the following paid or unpaid consultancies, business interests or sources of honoraria payments for the past three years, and anything else which could potentially be viewed as a conflict of interest: GB: Aboca, AB Biotics, Agave, Alfa Sigma, AGPharma, Bayer, Bromatech, Cadigroup, Biocodex, Sanofy, GE Healthcare, Mayoly, Diadema, Sofar; CC: Sofar, Interalia Pharma, Schwabe Pharma; consultation fees from Alfa Sigma; MB: is consultant for GE Healthcare, Aboca, Diadema, Norgine, Alfasigma, SOFAR, Agave; MC: is consultant for Arena, RB, Takeda, Mayoly, Biocodex and Sanofi and is Co-Chief Investigator in a research grant funded by Sanofi; LF: is consultant for Alfasigma e Norgine; GM: served as an advisory board member for EG Pharma; received lecture grants from AlfaSigma, Bromatech, Echosens, Ferring and Schwabe Pharma. EVS, has served as speaker for Abbvie, AGPharma, Alfasigma, EG Stada Group, Fresenius Kabi, Grifols, Janssen, Innovamedica, Malesci, Pfizer, Reckitt Benckiser, Sandoz, SILA, Sofar, Takeda, Unifarco; has served as consultant for Alfasigma, Amgen, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Diadema Farmaceutici, Falk, Fresenius Kabi, Janssen, Merck & Co, Reckitt Benckiser, Regeneron, Sanofi, Shire, SILA, Sofar, Synformulas GmbH, Takeda, Unifarco; he received research support from Reckitt Benckiser, SILA, Sofar, Unifarco; AS: is clinical investigator for Janssen Biologics B.V., Eli Lilly Cork Limited and Novalac; consultant for Aboca, Abbott, Angelini e Novalac; was clinical investigator for Aboca and PAREXEL International. VS: Alfa Sigma, Bayer, Coloplast, GE Healthcare, Menarini, Norgine. All the other authors declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection on the gastrointestinal tract remain unclear. Here, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and post-COVID-19 disorders of gut-brain interaction after hospitalisation for SARS-CoV-2 infection., Design: GI-COVID-19 is a prospective, multicentre, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were evaluated on hospital admission and after 1, 6 and 12 months post hospitalisation. Gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety and depression were assessed using validated questionnaires., Results: The study included 2183 hospitalised patients. The primary analysis included a total of 883 patients (614 patients with COVID-19 and 269 controls) due to the exclusion of patients with pre-existing gastrointestinal symptoms and/or surgery. At enrolment, gastrointestinal symptoms were more frequent among patients with COVID-19 than in the control group (59.3% vs 39.7%, p<0.001). At the 12-month follow-up, constipation and hard stools were significantly more prevalent in controls than in patients with COVID-19 (16% vs 9.6%, p=0.019 and 17.7% vs 10.9%, p=0.011, respectively). Compared with controls, patients with COVID-19 reported higher rates of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to Rome IV criteria: 0.5% versus 3.2%, p=0.045. Factors significantly associated with IBS diagnosis included history of allergies, chronic intake of proton pump inhibitors and presence of dyspnoea. At the 6-month follow-up, the rate of patients with COVID-19 fulfilling the criteria for depression was higher than among controls., Conclusion: Compared with controls, hospitalised patients with COVID-19 had fewer problems of constipation and hard stools at 12 months after acute infection. Patients with COVID-19 had significantly higher rates of IBS than controls., Trial Registration Number: NCT04691895., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Bile acid malabsorption (BAM) represents a common cause of chronic diarrhea whose prevalence is under-investigated. We reviewed the evidence available regarding the pathophysiology and clinical management of bile acid diarrhea (BAD). BAD results from dysregulation of the enterohepatic recirculation of bile acids. It has been estimated that 25-33% of patients with functional diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea have BAM. Currently, the selenium homotaurocholic acid test is the gold standard for BAD diagnosis and severity assessment. However, it is an expensive method and not widely available. The validation of the utility in the clinical practice of several other serum markers, such as 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) and the fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) is ongoing. The first-line treatment of patients with BAD is bile acid sequestrants. Patients that are refractory to first-line therapy should undergo further diagnostics to confirm the diagnosis and to treat the underlying cause of BAD. An early and correct diagnosis of BAD would improve patient's quality of life, avoiding additional diagnostic tests that burden health care systems. Considering the limited availability and tolerability of specific medications for BAD treatment, future research is awaited to identify other therapeutic approaches, such as gut microbiota modulating therapies.

The new virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCov-2) causing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread quickly in several countries and it has become pandemic. Different types of clinical manifestations are attributed to this infection. Some mechanisms related to the infection regarding the immune response are not still elucidated. Herein we reported a case of a 66-years-old patient affected by myelodysplasia who was referred to our hospital because of clinical and radiological manifestations of viral pneumonia. The clinical course has become complicated due to bacterial secondary over-infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa during stay in internal medicine unit whilst a persistent positive oral and naso-pharyngeal swab test was reported up to 100 days of admission. The patient had a fast clinical and radiological worsening that led her to be admitted to an intensive care unit. Despite intubation and mechanical ventilation she died in a few days., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In patients with colonic diverticulosis, the prevalence of segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) is debated. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SCAD in consecutive patients with diverticulosis in a single tertiary center. Over a six-month period, consecutive adult patients with colonic diverticulosis were included. Patients with endoscopic signs of interdiverticular mucosal inflammation (erythema, friability, and ulcerations) were considered suspected SCAD and underwent multiple biopsy samplings to confirm diagnosis. Clinical features were collected from diverticulosis and suspected SCAD patients. In total, 367 (26.5%) of 1383 patients who underwent colonoscopy presented diverticulosis. Among diverticulosis patients, 4.3% ( n = 16) presented macroscopic signs of interdiverticular mucosal inflammation and were identified as suspected SCAD. Compared to that of patients with diverticulosis, the age of suspected SCAD patients was significantly lower (60 ± 12.9 years (41.0-86.0) vs. 70 ± 10.6 years (38.0-93.0)) ( p = 0.047). Among patients with suspected SCAD, one patient received a new diagnosis of Crohn's disease, one had spirochetosis infection, and one presented drug-induced colitis. The remaining patients with suspected SCAD ( n = 13) were not confirmed by histology. This observational study suggests that SCAD diagnosis is a challenge in clinical practice due to the heterogeneity of endoscopic findings and lack of stated histological criteria.

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection requires major efforts in healthcare systems, due to the high risk of mortality, particularly in subjects with significant comorbidity (≥ 2 pathologies) and polypharmacy (≥ 5 drugs). The treatment of COVID-19 needs a careful evaluation, to reduce the risk of potentially adverse drug reactions. The aim of the study was to examine the use of computerized prescription support in the management and treatment of the COVID-19 infection. We evaluated n.33 patients (51% females) admitted to the west COVID Low-Medium Intensity of Care of Sant'Andrea Hospital during the period March-April 2020 and n.42 subjects (50% females) admitted to the Internal Medicine ward (as control group), by INTERCheck® and Drug-PIN®. The comorbidity (n. pathologies), polypharmacy (n. drugs), and total INTERCheck score in COVID-19 patients and controls were, respectively (mean ± standard deviation): 5.8 ± 3.8, 7.9 ± 4.5, and 9.2 ± 7.1 and 6.8 ± 2.6, 8.0 ± 2.6, and 4.9 ± 3.8 (statistically significant for comorbidity p  < 0.01 and INTERCheck score p  < 0.01). The correlation between the scores obtained by the INTERCheck and Drug-PIN software was statistically significant, either at admission ( p  < 0.0000001) or during hospitalization ( p  < 0.00000001). Both the computerized prescription support systems, INTERCheck® and Drug-PIN®, are useful to better characterize the patients and to ameliorate the drugs prescriptions in COVID-19 infection, with particular attention to the elderly population., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.)

The intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) is one of the largest interfaces between the environment and the internal milieu of the body. It is essential to limit the passage of harmful antigens and microorganisms and, on the other side, to assure the absorption of nutrients and water. The maintenance of this delicate equilibrium is tightly regulated as it is essential for human homeostasis. Luminal solutes and ions can pass across the IEB via two main routes: the transcellular pathway or the paracellular pathway. Tight junctions (TJs) are a multi-protein complex responsible for the regulation of paracellular permeability. TJs control the passage of antigens through the IEB and have a key role in maintaining barrier integrity. Several factors, including cytokines, gut microbiota, and dietary components are known to regulate intestinal TJs. Gut microbiota participates in several human functions including the modulation of epithelial cells and immune system through the release of several metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Mediators released by immune cells can induce epithelial cell damage and TJs dysfunction. The subsequent disruption of the IEB allows the passage of antigens into the mucosa leading to further inflammation. Growing evidence indicates that dysbiosis, immune activation, and IEB dysfunction have a role in several diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and gluten-related conditions. Here we summarize the interplay between the IEB and gut microbiota and mucosal immune system and their involvement in IBS, IBD, and gluten-related disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Barbara, Barbaro, Fuschi, Palombo, Falangone, Cremon, Marasco and Stanghellini.)

Recent evidence showed that dietary habits play a role as risk factors for the development of diverticular complications. This systematic review aims to assess the effect of dietary habits in the prevention of diverticula complications (i.e., acute diverticulitis and diverticula bleeding) in patients with diverticula disease. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched up to 19 January 2021, 330 records were identified, and 8 articles met the eligibility criteria and were subjected to data extraction. The quality of the studies was evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment form. No study meets the criteria for being a high-quality study. A high intake of fiber was associated to a decreased risk of diverticulitis or hospitalization due to diverticular disease, with a protective effect for fruits and cereal fiber, but not for vegetable fiber; whereas, a high red meat consumption and a generally Western dietary pattern were associated with an increased risk of diverticulitis. Alcohol use seemed to be associated to diverticular bleeding, but not to recurrent diverticulitis or diverticular complications. Further high-quality studies are needed to better define these associations. It is mandatory to ascertain the role of dietary habits for the development of recurrent acute diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding.

Background: Pathogenesis of acute diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding remains poorly defined, and few data compare directly risk factors for these complications., Aims: to assess differences in clinical features, lifestyles factors and concurrent drug use in patients with acute diverticulitis and those with diverticular bleeding., Methods: Data were obtained from the REMAD Registry, an ongoing 5-year prospective, observational, multicenter, cohort study conducted on 1,217 patients. Patient- and clinical- related factors were compared among patients with uncomplicated diverticular disease, patients with previous acute diverticulitis, and patients with previous diverticular bleeding., Results: Age was significantly lower (OR 0.48, 95% CI: 0.34-0.67) and family history of diverticular disease was significantly higher (OR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.11-2.31) in patients with previous diverticulitis than in patients with uncomplicated diverticular disease, respectively. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was significantly higher in patients with previous diverticular bleeding as compared with both uncomplicated diverticular disease (OR 8.37, 95% CI: 2.60-27.0) and diverticulitis (OR 4.23, 95% CI: 1.11-16.1)., Conclusion: This ancillary study from a nationwide Registry showed that some distinctive features identify patients with acute diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding. These information might improve the assessment of risk factors for diverticular complications., (Copyright © 2020 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Autoimmune atrophic gastritis (AAG) diagnosis is based on specific histological findings and anti-parietal cell antibodies (PCA) considered the serological hallmark of AAG, although a subgroup of AAG patients may be seronegative., Objectives: To assess the occurrence and clinical features of seronegative compared to seropositive AAG., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study including 516 consecutive adult patients (age 59.6 ± 12.8 years, F:M = 2.2:1) with histologically proven AAG diagnosed in two Italian academic referral centers over the last 10 years. PCA were detected at AAG diagnosis. Variables related to the dependent variable of interest (i.e.PCA-negativity) were assessed by univariate/logistic regression analysis., Results: 109/516 AAG patients were seronegative. The mean age of seronegative AAG patients was significantly higher compared to PCA-positive (65.9 ± 14.1vs57.9 ± 15.1 years; p<0.0001). The proportion of patients aged 70-79 and ≥80 years were, respectively, lower for PCA-positivity (5.1vs12.8%;21.3vs38.5%;p<0.005). Seronegativity was associated with age ≥50 years (OR2.4;95%CI 1.1-5.2), while for other variables (gender, comorbidities, anemia, atrophy severity) no association was found. In a sub-cohort of 101 AAG patients, PCA levels detected by ELISA were inversely correlated with age at AAG diagnosis (rho=-0.250;p = 0.0118)., Conclusion: Roughly 20% of patients are seronegative at the time of AAG histological diagnosis and this is more common in elderly individuals., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) is a viral infection which is rapidly spreading on a global scale and causing a severe acute respiratory syndrome that affects today about four and a half million registered cases of people around the world. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an urgent guidance for the doctors who take care of these patients. Recommendations contained in this protocol are based on limited, non-definitive, evidence and experience-based opinions about patients with low and medium intensity of care. A short guidance on the management of COVID-19 is provided for an extensive use in different hospital settings. The evidence-based knowledge of COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, and we hope that, in the near future, a definitive and most efficacious treatment will be available including a specific vaccine for SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.)