Gastroenterology
Expert perspectives on IBD, liver disease, motility disorders, and GI diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Recent Discussions
Would you consider sotalol to be a suitable non-selective beta blocker for primary prevention of variceal bleeding in a patient who requires sotalol for treatment of arrhythmia in the setting of Fontan-associated liver disease and clinically significant portal hypertension?
The answer to this question will need to be case-by-case, unfortunately.The short answer:The priority in this patient's case for using sotalol is likely the underlying heart disease and its associated arrhythmia, and this cardiac benefit would not be achieved by carvedilol and other NSBBs. Thus, it ...
Which patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension are ideal candidates to undergo TIPS to reduce perioperative risk in anticipation of an elective surgery?
A pre-operatively placed TIPS may have a role in preventing hepatic decompensation and post-surgical complications in carefully selected patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery. The data to support TIPS pre-operatively is limited, given the varying surgical contexts and the generally poor pro...
Do you obtain liver biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of cirrhosis if cirrhotic liver morphology is noted on imaging?
This question touches upon two interesting trends: 1) There is an increasing trend in Radiology to report "cirrhotic liver morphology" in the "Impressions" section. When you then review the Body of the report, often these cases are noted to only have a heterogeneous appearing liver with surface nodu...
What is your approach to the management of post-TIPS hepatic encephalopathy?
In general, this will depend on if HE is provoked or unprovoked. Provoking factors such as infection, dehydration, medications (sedatives) or GI bleeding are reversible and often do not require aggressive HE treatment when the underlying trigger is removed. It may be reasonable to consider lactulose...
What is your approach to choosing a particular advanced therapy based on patient or disease factors when initiating treatment for moderate-severe IBD?
The selection is based less on relative efficacy and safety (aside from JAKs) and more on the patient: Age, gender, family history, and co-morbidities. Younger males: more concern regarding lymphoma with thiopurines. Young women: If contemplating pregnancy would consider biologics vs small molecule...
How do you incorporate intestinal ultrasound in the care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease?
The use of intestinal ultrasound (IUS) has significantly impacted how I care for patients with IBD. In an established patient with IBD, I typically monitor disease activity every 6 months with a reliable tool (IUS, calprotectin, colonoscopy, or enterography), even when patients are asymptomatic, as ...
What role do you feel there is for antibiotics in the management of severe perianal Crohn's disease?
There isn't high quality data to answer this. I use antibiotics for perianal disease in the setting of an abscess, inflammatory stranding in the surrounding or during period of increased activity (purulent drainage, pain). One should always consider if an abscess needs to be drained (+/- EUA) or a s...
How would you approach new-onset large vessel vasculitis in a young patient with Crohn's disease?
Patients with Crohn's Disease (or IBD) can develop features of large vessel vasculitis or even other forms of vasculitis. The first consideration in a young patient would be determining the type of vasculitis--whether there is a distribution and clinical picture suggestive of TAK. It is important to...
What diet do you recommend for patients with inflammatory bowel disease?
This is a good question and very commonly comes up. The first step is really understanding what the expectations and goals are. If the goal is to achieve remission in people with inflammation who are symptomatic and want to use diet as monotherapy or in conjunction with meds, I discuss various thera...
Would you avoid risankizumab in a patient with stricturing Crohn’s complicated by granulomatous bronchiolitis with stenosis who had to stop ustekinumab due to hemoptysis?
Unless there had been a rapid and dramatic beneficial response of the Crohn’s disease to ustekinumab, I would have little appetite for trying another IL-blocker. A different mechanism, like JAK, might be worth trying, but the serious pulmonary complication probably warrants steroid therapy. One coul...