Introduction: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide. However, concerns are growing about the serious adverse events and mortality linked to their long-term use. Areas covered: The authors review the main approved clinical indications and adverse events associated with PPIs, including, among others, pneumonia, Clostridium difficile infection, cardiovascular diseases, bone fractures, kidney diseases, and several nutrient deficiencies. Recent studies have reported that patients taking PPIs displayed increased mortality, linked to cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal malignancies, and chronic kidney diseases. Expert opinion: PPIs represent an important advance in the medical treatment of acid-related diseases. PPIs have contributed to profound reductions in hospitalizations and mortality due to upper GI complications. However, concern is growing about the wide range of potentially serious adverse events and mortality linked to chronic PPI use. Nevertheless, the level of evidence on adverse events is low; it is based on observational studies, and most findings have not been confirmed in the limited number of clinical trials available. PPI overuse and off-label prescriptions must be eradicated, but long-term PPI use for clear indications must continue, until we have stronger evidence to support claims of serious adverse events and mortality.

Introduction: Despite its success, there appears to be practical issues with Faecal Calprotectin (FC) testing in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), including sample collection, delivery and processing delays. Patients’ perception and barriers to FC testing are yet to be explored in clinical practice. Method: A prospective patient survey was undertaken at IBD units in UK, Europe and Australia. A 9-point patient-based questionnaire was completed in clinic and included demographics, previous FC testing and FC sample difficulty rating score. Predictors of testing difficulty were derived using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 585 patients with IBD completed the survey; 306 males with a median age of 43 years (IQR: 31–54). There were 446 patients (76%) who had prior FC testing experience. Of these, 37% (n = 165) rated FC testing difficult; ‘sample collection’ (n = 106; 67%) being the most common reason reported. Multivariable regression analysis identified age <49 years (odds ratio (OR): 2.5, CI:1.6-4.0), disease duration <35 months (OR 1.4, CI:0.9–2.1) and testing location (UK centre: OR 1.9, CI:1.2-3.1) as predictors of a difficult FC rating score. Conclusions: A total of 37% of patients find FC testing challenging, in particular those aged <49 years, disease duration <35 months. Further studies understanding and addressing these practical issues may aid higher FC uptake in clinic.

Background: Faecal occult blood test (FOBT) has demonstrated effectiveness in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Faecal calprotectin (FC) has proven efficient for evaluating activity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but its value in CRC detection is less established. Most symptomatic patients have benign pathologies, but still undergo colonoscopy in many settings. Aims: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the combination of FOBT plus FC in symptomatic patients. Methods: Patients who completed colonic investigations and returned stool samples, on which FOBT and FC were performed, were recruited prospectively. CRC, advanced adenoma, IBD and angiodysplasia were considered as relevant pathologies. Results: A total of 404 patients were included, of whom 87 (21.5%) had relevant pathologies. Sensitivity and specificity were 50.6% and 69.6% for FOBT, 78.2% and 54.4% for FC. Negative predictive value (NPV) was 90.1% for FC and 86.9% for FOBT. NPV for the combination of FOBT and FC was 94.1%, with a sensitivity and specificity of 88.5% and 50.3%. The area under ROC (receiver operator curve) (AUC) was 0.741 for FOBT, 0.736 for FC and 0.816 for the combination. The total cost for visits and procedures was €233,016 (€577/patient). Using a combination of FOBT and FC as pre-endoscopic tool allows colonoscopies to be reduced by 39.4%, reducing total costs by 20.5%. Conclusion: The combination of FOBT and FC has a better diagnostic accuracy compared with each test alone. Performing both tests before colonoscopy is a less costly and more effective strategy, reducing unnecessary procedures and complications.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to healthcare systems worldwide, causing downscaling of almost all other activities, especially in its early stages. Currently, the availability of vaccines along with the spread of new viral variants has modified the epidemiology of the disease, and the previous activity is being gradually resumed in most healthcare facilities. In this review, we have summarized the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the diagnosis and management of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Population-based screening with either colonoscopy or fecal occult blood tests has proven to reduce CRC incidence and mortality, so screening programs have been implemented in most western countries. However, during the first COVID-19 wave, most of these programs had to be disrupted temporarily. In this review, we have thoroughly analyzed the consequences of these disruptions of screening programs as well as of the forced delays in diagnostic and therapeutic services on CRC prognosis, although its exact impact cannot be exactly measured yet. In any way, strategies to minimize its effect, such as catch-up strategies expanding the colonoscopy capacity or using fecal occult blood concentration and other risk factors to prioritize patients, are urgently needed. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to a change in CRC patient presentation, with an overall temporary decreased incidence due to postponed diagnoses, but with more patients presenting in need of an emergency admission or with symptoms. Finally, changes in treatment approaches in CRC patients have been reported during the pandemic, namely a drop in the proportion of laparoscopic surgeries or a rise in short-term radiotherapy courses. We have therefore aimed to summarize the available evidence to guide the healthcare professionals treating CRC patients to choose the best treatment options in the current pandemic situation.

Background. Periodical faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) is a cost-effective strategy in colon cancer screening programmes. FIT is also used as a diagnostic test in symptomatic patients. but data are scarce. Aim. To determine the association between FIT-Hb concentration and the risk of advanced neoplasia (AN) detected in colonoscopy in two different populations. Methods. The outcomes of colonoscopies performed after a positive FIT (> 117 ng/ml) (Sentinel Gold test) result were analysed in patients included within a population-based CRC screening programme (screening group) and, as diagnostic evaluation in symptomatic patients (symptomatic group). The study was performed between January 1st,2014 and October 31,2016. Data are reported Con as medians with interquartile ranges or frequencies and percentages. Positive predictive value (PPV) at arbitrary faecal haemoglobin concentrations were also reported calculated for AN. Results. We recruited 2742 patients who underwent a colonoscopy procedure, 1515 (53.5%) of them within the CRC screening programme. Patients in the screening group were younger (65.0±3.3 vs 66.2±13.4 years, p 1000 ng/ml) compared to those in the symptomatic group (36.3% – 52.5%). Similar trends were observed for cancer diagnosis alone. Conclusions. Male gender, age and FIT Hb concentration are predictors of risk of advanced adenoma and colorectal cancer and should be used to prioritise colonoscopy in patients with suspected advanced neoplasia, both in screening and in symptomatic patients.