Perception of the Role of Food and Dietary Modifications in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Impact on Lifestyle

Background: Diet has a relevant role in triggering symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from the patients’ perspective, but there is gap the between patients’ and doctors’ perceptions. Few studies have addressed this topic. The aim of this study was to evaluate food habits and nutrition knowledge in a homogeneous cohort of patients with IBD from southern Italy. Methods: 167 consecutive patients with IBD were recruited. The survey was based on the administration of a semi-structured questionnaire assessing demographics, disease features, dietary behavior, and food intolerance. Results: The majority of patients did not consider food a cause of their disease. However more than 80% chan…

P178 Remote monitoring as an effective management strategy in inflammatory bowel disease: the lesson from COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background During the COVID-19 outbreaks many IBD clinics in Italy adopted a remote monitoring approach both to ensure an adequate follow-up of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and respect the rules of social distancing, while access to hospital was restricted. Aim of the study was to perform a survey on IBD patients submitted to remote monitoring in our tertiary referral center in order to assess adherence and patients’ perceptions and satisfaction as well as their opinions for future monitoring. Changes in disease activity and Quality of Life were also evaluated. Methods Consecutive patients with IBD scheduled for follow-up visits were switched to remote monitoring …

P114 A screening tool for the early diagnosis of extraintestinal manifestations in inflammatory bowel disease: the EMAIL questionnaire

Abstract Background Data on prevalence of extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) range from 6% up to 47%. Recently, several red flags and questionnaires have been proposed for early diagnosis of articular manifestations. Our aim was to analyse the prevalence of EIMs in a single-centre prospective cohort, using a comprehensive questionnaire developed by our group to detect all EIMs (EMAIL questionnaire). Methods Patients with IBD attending our Clinic from November 2017 to January 2019 were interviewed using a two-part questionnaire, the first part for clinical-demographic data and the second part for EIMs. Patients positive to screening were referred for mu…

P162 Prevalence of nafld (non alcoholic fatty liver disease) and fibrosis in inflammatory bowel disease: the impact of traditional risk factors, intestinal inflammation and genetic phenotype

Abstract Background Prevalence of NAFLD has recently been reported increased in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with conflicting results due to heterogeneity of published studies, especially in the diagnostic definition of NAFLD. The increased risk of NAFLD might be related to traditional risk factors but also to IBD-related factors. The role of genetic markers has been addressed only in one study. The aim of our study has been to assess the prevalence of NAFLD and fibrosis in a homogeneous cohort of patients with IBD, assessing the role of metabolic, disease-related and genetic factors. Methods the diagnosis of NAFLD was based on transient fibroelastometry findings (CAP ≥288 dB/m) and HSI…

Short period Lithium Niobate poling for nonlinear three waves interactions

P293 Loss of response after first-line biologic therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: practical approach and management

Abstract Background Anti-tumour necrosis factors (anti-TNFs) have greatly improved therapeutic strategies for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). However, a significant number of patients do not respond or lose response over time (LOR). The aim of this retrospective prospective study was to evaluate patients (patients) treated with anti-TNFs as first-line treatment, with subsequent LOR, defined as recurrence of disease activity during maintenance therapy. We determine the prevalence of LOR and its management. Methods Three-hundred forty patients with IBDs were included: 65% had Crohn’s disease and 35% ulcerative colitis. Mean age at diagnosis was 31,5 years and medium time …

The changing scenario of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy: an update

Background and aims: Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is changing in most areas of the world. This study aimed at updating the changing scenario of aetiology, clinical presentation, management and prognosis of HCC in Italy during the last 15 years. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA) database included 6034 HCC patients managed in 23 centres from 2004 to 2018. Patients were divided into three groups according to the date of cancer diagnosis (2004-2008, 2009-2013 and 2014-2018). Results: The main results were: (i) a progressive patient ageing; (ii) a progressive increase of non-viral cases and, particularly, of ‘metabolic’ and ‘metabolic + alc…

Design and realization of a portable continuous wave fNIRS

A design and implementation of a portable functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy embedded system prototype is described. In this theoretical and experimental work, we present an embedded system hosting 64 LED sources and 128 Silicon PhotoMultiplier detectors (SiPM). The elementary part of the structure is a flexible probe “leaf” consisting of 16 SiPMs, 4 couples of LEDs, each operating at two wavelengths, and a temperature sensor. The hardware system is based on an ARM main microcontroller that allows to perform both the switching time of LEDs and the acquisition of the SiPM outputs. The performed preliminary experimental tests achieved very promising results, thus demonstrating the effectiv…

Are radiological endpoints surrogate outcomes of overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization?

Background& Aims: Time to progression (TTP) and progression-free survival (PFS) are commonly used as surrogate endpoints in oncology trials. We aimed to assess the surrogacy relationship of TTP and PFS with overall survival (OS) in studies of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC) by innovative methods. Methods: A search of databases for studies of TACE for u-HCC reporting both OS and TTP or PFS was performed. Individual patient data were extracted from TTP/PFS and OS Kaplan-Meier curves of TACE arms. Pooled median TTP and OS were obtained from random-effect model. The surrogate relationships of hazard ratios (HRs) and median TTP for OS …

The Course of COVID-19 in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Protective Role of TNF Antagonists

P228 Cytomegalovirus Infection: is it a cause of flare-up in inflammatory bowel diseases?

Abstract Background The presence of CMV in blood is quite common in patients with severe flares of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) and seems to predict an adverse outcome. The impact of antiviral treatment on CMV in this setting (indications and drug options) is an unresolved issue. Our aim was to reassess the CMV role in patients with IBD hospitalised for severe exacerbations, analysing the relationship between CMV positivity, clinical characteristics, antiviral therapy and disease outcomes. Methods We evaluated a homogeneous cohort of 97 consecutive patients with IBD hospitalised from 2012 to 2018. Data regarding age, gender, smoke, familial predisposition, type of IBD, e…

Experimental investigation and characterization of innovative bifacial silicon solar cells

The interest towards bifacial PV technology has increased over the last years, due to its potential capability of obtaining higher efficiencies with respect to traditional monofacial cells. Thus, the aim of this work is to present an experimental investigation on an innovative photovoltaic technology, such as the bifacial solar cells based on monocrystalline substrate. This analysis is mainly based on the determination of the current density/voltage, power density/voltage, External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) and Laser Beam Induced Current (LBIC) characterization. Interesting results are presented and discussed, demonstrating that the bifacial silicon solar cells can be a very promising techno…

Pattern of macrovascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background and aims: In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), macrovascular invasion (MaVI) limits treatment options and decreases survival. Detailed data on the relationship between MaVI extension and patients' characteristics, and its impact on patients' outcome are limited. We evaluated the prevalence and extension of MaVI in a large cohort of consecutive HCC patients, analysing its association with liver disease and tumour characteristics, as well as with treatments performed and patients' survival. Methods: We analysed data of 4774 patients diagnosed with HCC recorded in the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA) database (2008-2018). Recursive partition analysis (RPA) was performed …

Progression-Free Survival Early Assessment Is a Robust Surrogate Endpoint of Overall Survival in Immunotherapy Trials of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Radiology-based outcomes, such as progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR), are used as surrogate endpoints in oncology trials. We aimed to assess the surrogacy relationship of PFS with overall survival (OS) in clinical trials of systemic therapies targeting advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by novel meta-regression methods. Methods: A search of databases (PubMed, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Meeting Libraries, Clinicaltrials.gov) for trials of systemic therapies for advanced HCC reporting both OS and PFS was performed. Individual patient data were extracted from PFS and OS Kaplan&nd…