Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVE:Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as constipation are prevalent autonomic symptoms seen in prodromal and end-stage Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the association of GI symptoms and constipation alone with progression and severity of PD-associated cognitive impairment. METHODS:). RESULTS:Eleven prospective, nine cross-sectional, three retrospective, three case-control, and one randomized controlled studies were included, totaling 7042 PD patients. The presence of GI symptoms like constipation was significantly associated with PD dementia (RR 1.37; 95% CI 1.09, 1.71; p = 0.005). However, over 5 years, GI symptoms were not found to be associated with an increased prevalence of PD dementia. In subgroup analysis of three prospective studies, constipation was associated with worsened PD cognitive impairment over 5 years (decreased MOCA score by 1.259 points; 95% CI -2.059, -0.459; p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS:GI symptoms, and constipation specifically, were commonly reported among patients with PD dementia. In a subgroup analysis of prospective studies, worsening constipation seemed to correlate with greater cognitive impairment over 5 years. Although this meta-analysis did not establish causation, these findings highlight the potential importance of monitoring constipation in PD individuals as ongoing research about the role of the gut-brain axis continues.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has potential to significantly impact clinical research when it comes to research preparation and data interpretation. Development of AI tools that can help in performing literature searches, synthesizing and streamlining data collection and analysis, and formatting of study could make the clinical research process more efficient. Several of these tools have been developed and trialed and many more are being rapidly developed. This article highlights the AI applications in clinical research in gastroenterology including its impact on drug discovery and explores areas where further guidance is needed to supplement the current understanding and enhance its use.

Age is the strongest risk factor for colorectal cancer. Although there is updated guidance for the age at which to start screening, there is little guidance for individuals or their medical teams on how to decide when to stop. Current recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force and other societies focus primarily on age. For patients older than 85 years, guidelines discourage screening because the harms largely outweigh benefits. Although at a population level, the overall benefit of screening in older individuals decreases, one must individualize the recommendation based on comorbidities, functional status, screening history, and gender-not solely base it on age. Patient and caregiver preferences must also be thoroughly explored. Current models struggle with incorporating other colorectal cancer risk factors such as family history, previous adenomas, and modality of previous screening into recommendations and simulations, but are likely to improve with machine learning and whole electronic health record prediction-based approaches.

BACKGROUND:Repeat hospitalizations in veterans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are understudied. The early readmission rate and potentially modifiable risk-factors for 90-day readmission in veterans with IBD were studied to avert avoidable readmissions. METHODS:A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the data from veterans who were admitted to the Minneapolis VA Medical Center (MVMC) between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2013, for an IBD-related problem. All-cause readmissions within 30 and 90 days were recorded to calculate early readmission rates. The multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the potential risk factors for 90-day readmission. RESULTS:There were 130 unique patients (56.9% with Crohn's disease and 43.1% with ulcerative colitis) with 202 IBD-related index admissions. The mean age at the time of index admission was 59.8 ± 15.2 years. The median time to re-hospitalization was 26 days (IQR 10-49), with 30- and 90-day readmission rates of 17.3% (35/202) and 29.2% (59/202), respectively. Reasons for all-cause readmission were IBD-related (71.2%), scheduled surgery (3.4%) and non-gastrointestinal causes (25.4%). The following reasons were independently associated with 90-day readmission: Crohn's disease (OR 3.90; 95% CI 1.82-8.90), use of antidepressants (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.12-4.32), and lack of follow-up within 90 days with a primary care physician (PCP) (OR 2.63; 95% CI 1.32-5.26) or a gastroenterologist (GI) (OR 2.44; 95% CI 1.20-5.00). 51.0% and 49.0% of patients had documentation of a recommended outpatient follow-up with PCP and/or GI, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Early readmission in IBD is common. Independent risk factors for 90-day readmission included Crohn's disease, use of antidepressants and lack of follow-up visit with PCP or GI. Further research is required to determine if the appropriate timing of post-discharge follow-up can reduce IBD readmissions.

Crohn disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract. Typical manifestations include fever, weight loss, fatigue, and abdominal pain, and abdominal abscesses and fistulae are frequent complications. Abdominal actinomycosis is a subacute or indolent disease associated with Actinomyces spp. Symptoms can be very similar to those of Crohn disease, and fistulae are also common. Since ulcerations in the intestinal tract are thought to be caused by Actinomyces escaping from the gut lumen and establishing intra-abdominal infection, it seems likely that abdominal actinomycosis may occur in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We report a case of abdominal actinomycosis in a woman with active Crohn disease.