Oral recombinant H. pylori vaccine

In a randomized phase 3 trial, 4464 H. pylori uninfected children (ages 6 to 15 years) were assigned to a three-dose oral recombinant H. pylori vaccine or placebo]. At one year, the incidence of H. pylori infection was significantly lower in the vaccine group. Among patients who completed extended follow-up, H. pylori acquisition continued to be lower in vaccinated as compared with unvaccinated children, but protection levels were lower in the second and third year. There were no serious adverse events related to the vaccine. Additional studies with long-term follow-up are needed to validate these results

Skin disorders associated with TNF inhibitor use

A variety of skin disorders have been reported in association with the use of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. The largest of several recent studies of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving these agents involved a cohort of 917 consecutive patients with IBD on TNF inhibitors for a median of 3.5 years, in whom 29 percent developed skin lesions (12.4 per 100 patient-years) . Specific cutaneous lesions included (from most to least common) psoriasiform eczema, eczema, xerosis cutis, palmoplantar pustulosis, and psoriasis; other abnormalities were mostly infectious and inflammatory skin lesions and alopecia. The majority of patients were managed without discontinuation of TNF inhibitor therapy. Limitations of the analysis included uncertainty regarding the relative roles of the treatment and the underlying disease due to the lack of a matched control group not receiving TNF inhibitors

Olmesartan enteropathy

Olmesartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), can produce a "sprue-like enteropathy" characterized by severe chronic diarrhea and weight loss, occurring months to years after initiation of the drug. The largest experience comes from a French cohort of over 4 million patients who initiated therapy with olmesartan, a different ARB, or an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor . Compared with users of ACE inhibitors, intestinal malabsorption severe enough to cause hospitalization occurred substantially more often among patients taking olmesartan for one to two years (adjusted risk ratio 3.7) and among those taking olmesartan for more than two years (adjusted risk ratio 10.6). Risk was not increased in users of other ARBs. Although a large number of patients (ie, 12,550) needed to be treated with olmesartan for two or more years to produce one additional case of enteropathy requiring hospitalization, less severe but still clinically significant cases of enteropathy may have been more frequent. Patients starting olmesartan should be cautioned about the possibility of developing diarrhea and weight loss. The drug should be stopped if these symptoms occur and another cause is not identified.

Sigmoid resection versus laparoscopic lavage for perforated diverticulitis

The laparoscopic lavage and drainage procedure was introduced as a potentially less morbid alternative to sigmoid resection for patients with perforated diverticulitis. In the SCANDIV trial, 199 patients with perforated diverticulitis were randomized to undergo either laparoscopic lavage or sigmoid resection . At 90 days, laparoscopic lavage did not improve mortality rates (14 versus 12 percent) or major morbidity rates (31 versus 26 percent) compared with sigmoid resection. Furthermore, patients who underwent laparoscopic lavage were more likely to require reoperation (20 versus 6 percent) for complications such as secondary peritonitis or missed sigmoid cancer. Based upon these results and other available data, sigmoid resection with or without fecal diversion remains the preferred intervention for patients with perforated diverticulitis.