Month: April 2020

First responders and those who worked at the site of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City showed a prevalence of fatty liver at a four times greater occurrence than the general population, according to an expert presenting data during a press conference in advance of Digestive Diseases Week…

Patients with multidrug-resistant organisms treated with fecal microbiota transplantation had shorter hospitalizations, fewer infections in their bloodstream and had easier-to-treat infections, according to an expert presenting data during a press conference in advance of Digestive Disease Week data publication.Julian Marchesi, PhD, professor of human microbiome research at Cardiff University and professor of digestive health at…

Pain management during the COVID-19 pandemic requires balancing access to care with minimizing exposure risk for front-line health care providers and vulnerable patients, according to a panel of experts who developed guidelines on best practices.In a 2018 MMWR report, researchers estimated that approximately 50 million Americans experience chronic pain — or about 20% of all…

Neither treatment of nor complete eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection was associated with future Clostridioides difficile infection in a large study of United States veterans, according to research published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.Shria Kumar, MD, of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania,…

Atezolizumab plus cobimetinib significantly prolonged PFS compared with atezolizumab alone among a cohort of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, according to results of a phase 2 study presented at the virtual American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting.The combination also demonstrated manageable toxicity in what researchers described as the first randomized trial of immunotherapy…

Patients who are obese and underwent treatment with either bariatric surgery or weight-loss medications compared with persistently obese patients not exposed to either intervention are at lower risk for development of de-novo inflammatory bowel disease, according to study results.“Future research is needed to understand the mechanism behind persistent or refractory obesity and development of inflammatory…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented crisis unlike anything seen in many decades. While infectious disease specialists have been on the front lines since the first outbreak of the disease, as more information comes out, the world is beginning to understand the role the gastrointestinal tract plays in the disease.According to the CDC, there…

The FDA approved an additional recommended dosage of pembrolizumab, authorizing its use at 400 mg every 6 weeks.The new dosage option — available in addition to the previously approved dose of 200 mg every 3 weeks — applies to all adult indications for pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck).The anti-PD-1 therapy is approved for use as monotherapy and…

Individuals with cancer and COVID-19 infection appeared at higher risk for severe outcomes than cancer-free individuals with the novel coronavirus, according to results of a multicenter study presented at the virtual American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting.COVID-19 outcomes also varied based on cancer type and treatment. Those with hematologic malignancies, lung cancer or any…

The American Gastroenterological Association published new guidelines focused on the treatment of children and adults with eosinophilic esophagitis.The AGA partnered with the Joint Task Force for Allergy-Immunology to provide recommendations on management of these patients, including which therapies should be prioritized.“Over the past two decades, EoE has emerged as a dominant cause of swallowing difficulties…