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This paper is the first in a series of two publications relating to the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis and management of Crohn’s disease and concerns the methodology of the consensus process, and the classification, diagnosis and medical management of active and quiescent Crohn’s disease. Surgical management as well as special situations including management of perianal Crohn’s disease of this ECCO Consensus are covered in a subsequent second paper [Gionchetti et al JCC 2016].

This paper is the second in a series of two publications relating to the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis and management of Crohn’s disease [CD] and concerns the surgical management of CD as well as special situations including management of perianal CD and extraintestinal manifestations. Diagnostic approaches and medical management of CD of this ECCO Consensus are covered in the first paper [Gomollon et al. JCC 2016].

Intestinal Ultrasound in IBD.
Tip and trick on how to optimise your image

Giovanni Maconi

Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) has become in the last decades an important diagnostic tool for patients with suspected inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and for the management and follow up of patients with well-known Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Thanks to its non-invasiveness and accuracy, the ECCO-ESGAR guidelines recommend IUS as a valuable and practical tool for the assessment of disease activity, monitoring treatment, postoperative recurrence and complications, especially in Crohn's disease (CD).

However, IUS assessment of IBD can be challenging and its accuracy may vary according to targets (e.g. detection, activity, complications), habitus and features of patients, the clinical context,  and sonographer experience. The proper use of sonographic machine and adoption of tips and tricks to optimize bowel visualization are leading points to improve diagnostic yield, assess activity and detect complications. Among the relevant steps ,there are the optimization of gain settings, choose the right probe, appropriately set the color Doppler, use appropriately frame rate and other setting devices such as the Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF). The real time assessment is also crucial, this includes the appropriate use of the graded compression, change of patients position, and use additional techniques such as the oral or intravenous contrast agents. These steps may be very useful to improve the visualization of the bowel, discriminate specific lesions and conditions and overall to improve sonographic assessment of IBD.

Tofacitinib is an oral, small molecule JAK inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib were evaluated in randomised, placebo-controlled Phase (P)2 (NCT00787202) and P3 (NCT01465763; NCT01458951; NCT01458574) studies, an open-label, long-term extension (OLE) study (NCT01470612) and an ongoing P3b/4 study (NCT03281304). We report updated tofacitinib safety analyses from the tofacitinib UC clinical programme, with inclusion of a 6‑month interim analysis of data from the P3b/4 study, up to 7.8 years of tofacitinib exposure.

This analysis included1157 patients (pts) receiving tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg BID from completed P2/P3/OLE studies, and the ongoing P3b/4 study (as of 20 Feb 2020; Overall+P3b/4 Cohort). Proportions and incidence rates (IRs; unique pts with events/100 pt‑years [PY] of exposure) were evaluated for deaths and adverse events (AEs) of special interest. Opportunistic infections (OIs), malignancies, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and gastrointestinal perforations were adjudicated.

Table 1 shows demographics and clinical characteristics. In the Overall+P3b/4 Cohort, 1157 pts received ≥1 dose of tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg BID; 955 (83%) received a predominant dose of 10 mg BID; 397/1157 (34.3%) pts had received tofacitinib for >4.1 years. Median treatment duration was 623 (range, 1–2850) days (2999.7 PY of exposure). Table 2 shows safety data for AEs of special interest in the Overall+P3b/4 Cohort. IRs (95% confidence intervals) for all tofacitinib doses: deaths, 0.23 (0.09, 0.46); serious infections, 1.69 (1.26, 2.21); herpes zoster (non-serious and serious), 3.30 (2.67, 4.04); OIs, 1.03 (0.70, 1.46); malignancies (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer [NMSC]), 0.84 (0.55, 1.24); NMSC, 0.73 (0.45, 1.10); MACE, 0.29 (0.13, 0.55); deep vein thrombosis, 0.03 (0.00, 0.18); pulmonary embolism, 0.19 (0.07, 0.42); and gastrointestinal perforations, 0.10 (0.02, 0.28). IRs for AEs of special interest were similar to prior Overall Cohort analyses.¹

The safety profile of tofacitinib in pts with UC from the tofacitinib UC clinical programme was generally consistent with that of other UC therapies, including biologics, with the exception of herpes zoster.² IRs for AEs of special interest have remained stable over an extended period of time (up to 7.8 years) with inclusion of final data from the OLE study and an interim analysis of data from the P3b/4 study.^1,3

References:
1. Sandborn WJ et al. United European Gastroenterol J 2021; 9 (Suppl 8): Abstract OP152.
2. Curtis JR et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2021; 27: 1394-1408.
3. Sandborn WJ et al. United European Gastroenterol J 2020; 8 (Suppl 8): Abstract OP494.