BACKGROUNDThe current epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the multi-ethnic United Kingdom is unknown. The last incidence study in the United Kingdom was carried out over 20 years ago.AIMTo describe the incidence and phenotype of IBD and distribution within ethnic groups.METHODSAdult patients (> 16 years) with newly diagnosed IBD (fulfilling Copenhagen diagnostic criteria) were prospectively recruited over one year in 5 urban catchment areas with high South Asian population. Patient demographics, ethnic codes, disease phenotype (Montreal classification), disease activity and treatment within 3 months of diagnosis were recorded onto the Epicom database.RESULTSAcross a population of 2271406 adults, 339 adult patients were diagnosed with IBD over one year: 218 with ulcerative colitis (UC, 64.3%), 115 with Crohn's disease (CD, 33.9%) and 6 with IBD unclassified (1.8%). The crude incidence of IBD, UC and CD was 17.0/100000, 11.3/100000 and 5.3/100000 respectively. The age adjusted incidence of IBD and UC were significantly higher in the Indian group (25.2/100000 and 20.5/100000) compared to White European (14.9/100000, P = 0.009 and 8.2/100000, P < 0.001) and Pakistani groups (14.9/100000, P = 0.001 and 11.2/100000, P = 0.007). The Indian group were significantly more likely to have extensive disease than White Europeans (52.7% vs 41.7%, P = 0.031). There was no significant difference in time to diagnosis, disease activity and treatment.CONCLUSIONThis is the only prospective study to report the incidence of IBD in an ethnically diverse United Kingdom population. The Indian ethnic group showed the highest age-adjusted incidence of UC (20.5/100000). Further studies on dietary, microbial and metabolic factors that might explain these findings in UC are underway.

AimOur aim was to assess bowel function and its effect on overall quality of life (QOL) when compared to healthy controls after colectomy.MethodsPatients undergoing resection of colorectal neoplasia were recruited pre-operatively and followed up at 6 and 12 months, to assess ‘early’ bowel function. Patients who underwent surgery 2 to 4 years previously were recruited for assessment of ‘intermediate’ bowel function. Healthy relatives were recruited as controls. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre and EQ-5D questionnaires were used to assess bowel function and QOL, respectively. Statistical assessment included regression analyses, parametric and non-parametric tests. The association between QOL and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) scores was evaluated using Spearman’s rank correlation.ResultsNinety-one patients were recruited for assessment of ‘early’ and 85 for ‘intermediate’ bowel function. There were 85 controls. Patients had a significantly higher number of bowel movements at each follow-up (p < 0.001). At 12 months after surgery, patients reported difficulty with gas-stool discrimination. The ‘intermediate’ group were found to have lower scores for flatus control (<0.001) and total frequency score (p 0.03), indicating worse function. Patients with higher total MSKCC scores, no symptoms of urgency and those able to control flatus reported better QOL (p 0.006, 0.007 and 0.005, respectively) at 6 and 12 months. Gas-stool differentiation and complete evacuation correlated with better QOL in the ‘intermediate’ bowel function group (p 0.02 and 0.02, respectively).ConclusionColonic resection adversely affects elements of bowel function up to 4 years after surgery. Good colonic function, represented by higher MSKCC scores, correlates with better QOL.

Background Colorectal cancer often presents with obstruction needing urgent, potentially life-saving decompression. The comparative efficacy and safety of endoluminal stenting versus emergency surgery as initial treatment for such patients is uncertain. Methods Patients with left-sided colonic obstruction and radiological features of carcinoma were randomized to endoluminal stenting using a combined endoscopic/fluoroscopic technique followed by elective surgery 1–4 weeks later, or surgical decompression with or without tumour resection. Treatment allocation was via a central randomization service using a minimization procedure stratified by curative intent, primary tumour site, and severity score (Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation). Co-primary outcome measures were duration of hospital stay and 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes were stoma formation, stenting completion and complication rates, perioperative morbidity, 6-month survival, 3-year recurrence, resource use, adherence to chemotherapy, and quality of life. Analyses were undertaken by intention to treat. Results Between 23 April 2009 and 22 December 2014, 245 patients from 39 hospitals were randomized. Stenting was attempted in 119 of 123 allocated patients (96.7 per cent), achieving relief of obstruction in 98 of 119 (82.4 per cent). For the 89 per cent treated with curative intent, there were no significant differences in 30-day postoperative mortality (3.6 per cent (4 of 110) versus 5.6 per cent (6 of 107); P = 0.48), or duration of hospital stay (median 19 (i.q.r. 11–34) versus 18 (10–28) days; P = 0.94) between stenting followed by delayed elective surgery and emergency surgery. Among patients undergoing potentially curative treatment, stoma formation occurred less frequently in those allocated to stenting than those allocated to immediate surgery (47 of 99 (47.5 per cent) versus 72 of 106 (67.9 per cent); P = 0.003). There were no significant differences in perioperative morbidity, critical care use, quality of life, 3-year recurrence or mortality between treatment groups. Conclusion Stenting as a bridge to surgery reduces stoma formation without detrimental effects. Registration number: ISRCTN13846816 (http://www.controlled-trials.com).

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BSG abstracts Methods Fifty three confirmed treated or untreated celiac disease patients referred to Taleghani hospital, Iran as cases were matched according to age and gender with 300 healthy controls, screened with ELISA to determine the level of IL8. Results Serum IL8 levels were evaluated in all patients with positive CD compare to healthy control. The minimum level of IL8 in cases was 16.3 and maximum level was 397.7. On the other side the minimum and maximum level of IL8 in controls was 10.3 and 397.7 respectively. The mean level of IL8 in celiac disease patients was 116.8 compare with 84.8 in healthy control. This differences was statistically significant between 2 groups (p = 0.0001). Conclusion Increased serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL8 seem to be increased in patients with celiac disease. It is the inflammation inherent in gluten sensitivity rather than mucosal atrophy that results in malabsorption and nutrient deficiency. Our findings suggest that higher level of IL8 in patients with celiac disease characterise the higher inflammatory response of this disease in the active phase. The inflammatory response including increasing the level of IL-8 may cause or not damage to the intestinal mucosa but in both cases lead to increased permeability of the intestinal epithelium.