Introducing The Qazi Corner With Taha Qazi, MD

It is my pleasure to introduce the inaugural issue of The Qazi Corner.

Over the course of the year, we hope to highlight important research in gastroenterology, presented at meeting and conferences, as well as any clinically relevant research publications that can be directly applied to the management of patients.

In the inaugural version of the publication, we present recent data on new medication for both the management of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (CD). Moreover, we highlight important work that details steps toward the standardization of extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease.

We also present data on the radiologic entity of fatty pancreas, which has clinical implications regarding long term consequences of pancreatic dysfunction.

Shubha Bhat, PharmD, a clinical pharmacologist with the IBD Medical Home at the Cleveland Clinic, presents the data for the phase 3 clinical trial of risankizumab, a selective IL-23 inhibitor.

The data from ADVANCE and MOTIVATE reports the results of induction therapy with Risankizumab in patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease. The results from FORTIFY describe the data from risankizumab as maintenance therapy.

Considering the options available for Crohn’s disease therapy, risankizumab represents a novel agent for the management of moderate to severe CD, which is efficacious in induction as well as in maintenance.

Ravi Shah, MD, a second-year clinical fellow, describes new evidence for the use of selective Janus kinase (JAK) inhibition in the management of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. Upadacitinib, a JAK-1 selective inhibitor, was recently approved for the management of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, following the results of the recent U-ACHIVE and U-ACCOMPLISH induction studies as well as the U-ACHIEVE maintenance study.

Upadacitnib represents an additional option for the management of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, in patients who have previously failed anti-TNF biologic therapies, with a potentially favorable safety profile.

Katherine Fallon, MD, reports the results of her recent study published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics and presented at Digestive Disease Week 2022. As a part of her recent study, she sought to standardize the approach of evaluating and defining extra-intestinal manifestation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Nearly 50% of patients with IBD report extra-intestinal manifestations, and further clarity on diagnosis, incorporating multidisciplinary opinion from rheumatology, ophthalmology, and dermatology, is a step toward better treatment paradigms for our patients. We look forward to future results of the CHASE-EIM study which will provide further insight on diagnostics and management.

Lastly, Amandeep Singh, DO, the current Advanced Endoscopy fellow at the Cleveland Clinic, reports the results of his recent study evaluating the imaging entity that is fatty pancreas.

Often seen and also overlooked, fatty pancreas can result from a variety of etiologies. Over a mean follow-up period of 3.9 years after a diagnosis of fatty pancreatitis, a significant portion developed pancreatic pathology outside of traditional risk factors such as acute pancreatitis. The study leads credence to the understanding that fatty pancreatitis may represent as continuum of disease and large prospective studies are needed.