Inflammatory Bowel Disease Flashcards
what two conditions make up inflammatory bowel disease
- Crohns disease
- ulcerative colitis
What is the definition of inflammatory bowel disease
- chronic condition
- idiopathic
- relapsing and remitting
- made up of inflammatory disorders of the GI tract
Where does IBD tend to present in more developed or undeveloped countries
more in developed countries
What is NOD2
- Immune cells in the body that protects against inflamming pathogens
if you have a NOD2 mutation what are you at risk of
- developing IBD
how is the hygiene hypothesis lead to IBD
- increase in hygiene has caused an rise in autoimmune conditions
- this is because we are not exposed to pathogens in the same way as we were before
How is smoking related to IBD and what is its difference between crohns and UC
Crohns
- accelerates disease progression
- less likely to respond to treatment
- smoking cessation effective is an effective treatment
UC
- onset of UC follows smoking cessation
- nicotine patches are as effective as 5ASA
What lifestyle intervention is effective for crohns
- smoking cessation is an effective treatment
what can you take that is as effective as 5ASA in UC
nicotine patches are as effective as 5ASA
describe the gut brain axis
- Brain and the gut are linked
- stress can play a role in gut disorders
- by reducing stress you can reduce the inflammatory response
What are drugs that initiate relapse in IBD
- NSAIDs
- oral contraceptives
- opioids (loperamide, codeine)
- antibiotics
how can diet effect IBD
- diet can play a role
- precise factors is unknown
- elemental/polymeric liquid diet is best
what are the likely diet suspects in IBD which can cause IBD
- high animal fat diet
- low fibre intake
- emulsifiers and thickeners
- may alter gut microbiome
How are physical inactivity and IBD linked
Regular active exercise reduces risk of
- developing crohns but not UC
- relapse of crohns and possibly UC
what is the epidemiology of UC
- UK 13.9 per 100,000
- black SA 0.6 per 100,000
What is the cause of ulcerative colitis
- inappropriate immune response against colonic flora in genetically susceptible individuals
What is the onset of ulcerative colitis
- peak 20-40
- second peak is greater than 60
- both men and women get it equally
describe the genetic component of UC
- monozygotic twins - 13%
- dizygotic twins - 2%
what are the three types of ulcerative colitis
- left sided colitis
- pretosigmoiditis
- proctitis
what area does ulcerative colitis affect
- colon and rectum only
- almost always rectum with variable proximal extent
Where is the inflammation limited to in ulcerative colitis
- limited to the lamina propria
What are the symptoms of UC
- Bloody and mucus diarrhoea
- Urgency
- Tenesmus - cramping rectal pain
- Abdominal pain particularly in the left lower quadrant
- Extra intestinal features
- Fever, malaise, weight loss
what are the signs of UC
- tender abdomen - usually in the LIF generally mild
- pallor - anaemic
- tachycardia
- leuconychia - due to malnutrition
- extra intestinal manifestations
- fever
How do you investigate UC
bloods
- anaemia - typically microcytic
- low ferritin
- low albumin
- raised inflammatory markers - CRP, ESR, Faceal calprotectin, thrombocytosis
plain AXR - shows dilated bowel and drainpipe colon
Lower GI endoscopy and then colonoscopy once patient stable
what is faceal calprotectin a marker for
inflammatory marker expressed by immune cells lining the cell wall that re expressed by neutrophils
what is the gold standard for diagnosis for IBD
endoscopy
Name the medications used in treatment of IBD
- steroids in the acute phase but never used as a maintenance
Maintenance
- 5ASA - mesalazine - 1st line
- probiotics - VSL, E.coli nissle
- azathioprine - moderate to severe
- methotrexate
Anti- TNF
- infliximab
- adalimumab
- Golimumab
Anti-intergrin
- vedolizumab
JAK inhibitors
- tofacitinib
surgery - lifetime risk of 15% in UC, 70% in crohn’s - have to have the whole bowel removed
What is the first line treatment for UC
- 5ASA - mesalazine (aminosalicylate)
how do anti-intergrin work
- block homing molecules on peripheral lymphocytes which then bind to adhesion molecules within the endothelial layer of the blood vessel, blocks lymphocytes from going across the endothelial layer
Describe the treatment pyramid for UC (basic)
1st
- mesalazine - oral and topical
2nd
immunomodulators
- azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine
3rd
- Anti- TNF = infliximab, adalimumab
- Anti-integrins - vedolizumab
- JAK inhibitors - Tofacitinib
describe the epidemiology of Crohn’s disease
5.9-9.8 per 100,000
What is Crohn’s disease
it is a chronic inflammatory disease characterised by transmural granulomatous inflammation affecting any part of the gut from out to anus
- especially affects terminal ileum in 70%
what is the average age of crohns disease
- Median age of onset is 30
- peak incidence is between 15-30
- men and women get it equally
What are the symptoms of crohns
- depends on where the disease is - large itnestine or terminal ileum
where is the most common area for crohns disease
terminal ileum
if crohns disease is in the terminal ileum what is the commonest symptom
pain