Piet Schurmans - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Piet Schurmans

Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 2007

Background and aim: Although the efficacy of maintenance remission therapy in ulcerative colitis ... more Background and aim: Although the efficacy of maintenance remission therapy in ulcerative colitis (UC) has been proved in many studies, little is known about its possible effect on the extent of the disease. The aim of the present multicenter Belgian study was to evaluate the potential role of UC maintenance therapy on the colonic extension of the disease. Materials and methods: A total of 98 patients, 56 males, 42 females, mean age 52 years, range 22-82 years, from 12 medical centers in Belgium, with an acute exacerbation of wellestablished, endoscopically and histologically proven left-sided UC, were included. The colonic extension was endoscopically determined at the time of the initial diagnosis and at the actual

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 1997

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is considered to be the best staging technique for cancer... more Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is considered to be the best staging technique for cancer of the esophagus or the esophagogastric junction. This study evaluates the relation between preoperative EUS staging results of these tumors and survival. It also examines how EUS staging predicts resectability. Methods: Survival data of 86 patients who underwent EUS for staging of tumors of the esophagus

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 1996

KULeuven. ...

Gastroenterology, 2002

Background &Aims: Collagenous colitis (CC) is a welldescribed entity causing chronic diarrhea and... more Background &Aims: Collagenous colitis (CC) is a welldescribed entity causing chronic diarrhea and characteristic histologic findings. Several treatment options have been suggested, but no controlled data are available. We conducted a placebo-controlled trial to show the clinical and histologic effects of budesonide in CC. Methods: Twenty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n --14) or budesonide 9 mg daily (n = 14) for 8 weeks. Patients were evaluated clinically, and blinded biopsy specimens were analyzed from fixed locations at weeks 0 and 8. Clinical response was defined as a decrease of at least 50% in the disease activity score (number of bowel movements in the last 7 days). At week 8, nonresponders received open-label budesonide for the next 8-week period; responders discontinued treatment and were followed up. Results: Three patients discontinued the study prematurely. Intention-to-treat analysis showed clinical response in 8 of 14 patients in the budesonide group compared with 3 of 14 responders for placebo (P --0.05) after 8 weeks of blinded therapy, together with improved stool consistency. Histologically, there was no change in the mean thickness of the collagen band but a significant decrease of the lamina propria infiltrate in the budesonide group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Budesonide is efficacious in inducing short-term clinical response in CC with significant reduction of the histologic infiltrate in the lamina propria.

Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 1988

The efficacy and safety of omeprazole, 40 mg once daily for four to eight weeks of treatment, wer... more The efficacy and safety of omeprazole, 40 mg once daily for four to eight weeks of treatment, were studied in 61 patients with ulcerative reflux esophagitis. A double-blind controlled study design was used, and the patients were randomly allocated to treatment with either omeprazole 40 mg once daily or ranitidine 150 mg twice daily. Endoscopy was performed prior to inclusion into the study, after four weeks and, if unhealed, again after eight weeks. Healing of esophagitis was defined as complete disappearance of all esophageal ulcerations. Symptoms were recorded before entry, after four weeks, and again after eight weeks in unhealed patients. Fifty-one patients were included in the per-protocol analysis at day 29, and 50 patients at day 57. The healing rate after four weeks of treatment was 22 of 26 patients (85%) treated with omeprazole and 10 of 25 patients (40%) treated with ranitidine (P less than 0.001). The corresponding figures after eight weeks were 24 of 25 (96%), and 13 of 25 (52%) (P less than 0.001). These results were confirmed in the intent-to-treat analysis. Patients treated with omeprazole showed a significantly faster and more profound relief in heartburn than patients treated with ranitidine: 85% had no heartburn after four weeks of treatment with omeprazole compared to 24% in patients treated with ranitidine (P = 0.00007). The percentage of patients who were free of all reflux symptoms was significantly greater in the omeprazole-treated group as compared to the ranitidine-treated group (62% and 12% respectively; P = 0.0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Digestion, 1981

A new test of intraluminal fat digestive activity is proposed for which a mixed triglyceride, 1,3... more A new test of intraluminal fat digestive activity is proposed for which a mixed triglyceride, 1,3-dioleyl-2-14C-decanoyl glycerol, was used. 29 normal subjects, 14 patients with proven chronic pancreatitis, 10 pancreatectomy, 12 villus atrophy and 8 bile acid-deficient patients were studied. The mean 14CO2 excretion in breath, expressed as the 10th-hour cumulative percentage of the administered dose, was 68.3% in the normal subjects, and only 32.9% in patients with pancreatic disease. There was almost no overlap between the normal subjects and the patients with proven organic disease. The test also allowed the detection of functional pancreatic insufficiency, due to impaired pancreatic stimulation in case of gluten enteropathy and severe malabsorption.

The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 1999

Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding is a rare complication of Crohn's disease, which re... more Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding is a rare complication of Crohn's disease, which represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The aim of this study was to define epidemiological characteristics and therapeutic options of hemorrhagic forms of Crohn's disease. Thirty-four cases of hemorrhagic forms of Crohn's disease were studied retrospectively. Acute lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage was defined as acute rectal bleeding originating in diseased bowel and requiring a transfusion of at least 2 units of red blood cells within 24 h. Upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage or anal lesions and postoperative bleeding were excluded. Mean age at time of hemorrhage was 34.2 +/- 14 yr. Mean duration of disease before the hemorrhage was 5.6 +/- 6 yr. The hemorrhage occurred during a flare up of the disease in 35% of cases. The hemorrhage revealed Crohn's disease in 23.5% of cases. The hemorrhage was more frequent in colonic disease (85%) than in isolated small bowel disease (15%) (p < 0.0001). The origin of bleeding was identified in 65% of cases, by colonoscopy (60%), by angiography (3 patients), or at surgery (1 patient). The bleeding lesion was an ulcer in 95% of cases, most often in the left colon. The treatment was surgical in 20.5% (colectomy in 36%), endoscopical (7 patients, including 5 successes), or medical. Hemorrhage recurred in 12 patients (35%) within a mean time of 3 yr (4 days-8 yr), requiring surgery in 3 cases. No death was observed. This study performed in a series characterized by a nonsurgical recruitment, the largest to date, shows that hemorrhagic forms of Crohn's disease may reveal disease in 23.5%, occurs in quiescent Crohn's disease in two-thirds of cases. Given the potential efficacy of endoscopical or medical treatment, as well as the absence of mortality, a conservative approach may be suggested as first-line therapy in the majority of patients.