Background/Aims Extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) involving joints, skin, eyes and liver represent an important problem in the treatment of IBD patients. The aim of this study was to identify factors that are associated with the occurrence of joint EIM and therefore allow an early diagnosis and guide medical treatment. Methods We studied clinical and epidemiological data from 3298 patients included in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS), 1860 suffered from Crohn’s disease (CD) and 1438 from ulcerative colitis or IBD unclassified (UC/IBDU). Results We found female gender as well as a longer disease duration and activity (specified as CDAI or MTWAI, respectively) to be related to the appearance of arthritis/arthralgia, but also sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis in IBD patients. IBD patients with arthritis/arthralgia or sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis were more often treated with anti-TNF and patients with arthritis/arthralgia underwent more often IBD-related surgeries. We revealed that eye or skin EIM were more frequent in patients with arthritis/arthralgia or sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis. In multivariate analysis, we confirmed female gender, longer disease duration, IBD-related surgery, presence of other EIM and treatment with anti-TNF to be independent risk factors for the onset of arthritis/arthralgia in CD and UC/IBDU patients. Conclusion In this study, we demonstrated that markers for a more severe disease course were associated with the onset of joint EIM in IBD patients. Our data suggest that in particular females under anti-TNF treatment and patients suffering from non-joint and/or IBD-related surgery should be close and carefully monitored for presence of arthritis or sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis.

Crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD) can be associated with impaired cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and poor clinical outcome, but whether this holds true for patients with diffuse glioma is unknown. With blood oxygenation level–dependent (BOLD)-CVR imaging, we determined the presence of CCD in patients with diffuse glioma and investigated its relationship with cerebrovascular reactivity and clinical outcome. For eighteen enrolled subjects (nineteen datasets) with diffuse glioma, CCD was deferred from BOLD-CVR using a predetermined cerebellar asymmetry index (CAI) cutoff value of 6.0%. A FET-PET study was done as a verification of the CCD diagnosis. BOLD-CVR values as well as clinical performance scores (i.e., Karnofsky performance score (KPS), disability rating scale (DRS), and modified Rankin scale (mRS)) by BOLD-CVR scan at 3-month clinical follow-up were assessed and compared for the CCD-positive and CCD-negative group. CCD was present in 26.3% of subjects and strongly associated with impaired BOLD-CVR of the affected (i.e., the hemisphere harboring the glioma) and unaffected supratentorial hemisphere (CCD(+) vs. CCD(−): 0.08 ± 0.11 vs. 0.18 ± 0.04; p = 0.007 and 0.08 ± 0.12 vs. 0.19 ± 0.04; p = 0.007, respectively). This finding was independent of tumor volume (p = 0.48). Furthermore, poorer initial (by scan) clinical performance scores at follow-up were found for the CCD(+) group. The presence of crossed cerebellar diaschisis in patients with diffuse glioma is associated with impaired supratentorial cerebrovascular reactivity and worse clinical outcome.

Intraoperatively acquired diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences in cranial tumor surgery are used for early detection of ischemic brain injuries, which could result in impaired neurological outcome and their presence might thus influence the neurosurgeon’s decision on further resection. The phenomenon of false-negative DWI findings in intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (ioMRI) has only been reported in single cases and therefore yet needs to be further analyzed. This retrospective single-center study’s objective was the identification and characterization of false-negative DWI findings in ioMRI with new or enlarged ischemic areas on postoperative MRI (poMRI). Out of 225 cranial tumor surgeries with intraoperative DWI sequences, 16 cases with no additional resection after ioMRI and available in-time poMRI (< 14 days) were identified. Of these, a total of 12 cases showed false-negative DWI in ioMRI (75%). The most frequent tumor types were oligodendrogliomas and glioblastomas (4 each). In 5/12 cases (41.7%), an ischemic area was already present in ioMRI, however, volumetrically increased in poMRI (mean infarct growth + 2.1 cm3; 0.48–3.6), whereas 7 cases (58.3%) harbored totally new infarcts on poMRI (mean infarct volume 0.77 cm3; 0.05–1.93). With this study we provide the most comprehensive series of false-negative DWI findings in ioMRI that were not followed by additional resection. Our study underlines the limitations of intraoperative DWI sequences for the detection and size-estimation of hyperacute infarction. The awareness of this phenomenon is crucial for any neurosurgeon utilizing ioMRI.