Gi Insights

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: Jason Schairer, MD For a significant portion of our patients, pouchitis can be a frustrating and trying condition plagued with urgent diarrhea, incontinence, and even complications of fistula and stricture. Fortunately, a group of clinicians have gathered together to develop consensus guidelines on the endoscopic evaluation and clinical management of pouchitis and its potential complications. And who better to give us an in-depth review of the new guidelines than Dr. Jason Schairer, one of the authors of the guidelines.

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: James D. Lewis, MD, MSCE An ongoing question for clinicians and patients alike is how diet can impact IBD treatment and management. Here to discuss this topic with Dr. Neil Nandi is Dr. James Lewis of the University of Pennsylvania IBD Center. Dr. Lewis recently conducted a clinical randomized trial that compared the impact of two diets on patients with mild-to-moderate Crohn’s disease symptoms, and now, Drs. Nandi and Lewis are diving into this study, the reasoning behind it, and its outcomes.

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: Jordan E. Axelrad, MD, MPH Many IBD patients and clinicians shy away from the topic of sexual health—and understandably so. Talking about sex in the clinic sadly remains a taboo, and there’s not many research studies exploring IBD and sexual health to use for guidance. But sexuality and intimacy are vital matters to discuss with our patients, which is why Dr. Jordan Axelrad joins Dr. Neil Nandi to share how we can facilitate an open and honest conversation with patients about their sexual health.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Amanda Ayers, MD, FACS Many patients undergo surgery to help manage their inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but many questions still surround the surgical management of IBD. When should a patient receive surgery? How do we know which procedure is best? And what do we need to keep in mind before, during, and after a patient's surgery? Joining Dr. Peter Buch to help address those and other questions is colorectal surgeon Dr. Amanda Ayers.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Corey A. Siegel, MD, MS Predicting which patients with IBD will develop complications allows for much better medication choices. But how do we go about predicting that risk? Joining Dr. Peter Buch to tackle this topic is Dr. Corey Siegel, Section Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Christopher J. DiMaio, MD The approach to managing pancreatic necrosis has evolved over the past several years. To learn more, Dr. Peter Buch speaks with Dr. Christopher J. DiMaio, who’s one of the lead authors of the clinical practice update from the American Gastroenterological Association focusing on the management of pancreatic necrosis.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Randolph Steinhagen, MD Despite significant advances in Crohn’s disease therapy, sometimes patients have no other option but surgery. So to learn more about surgery for Crohn’s disease, Dr. Peter Buch speaks with Dr. Randolph Steinhagen, Chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery and the Director for the Colon and Rectal Fellowship Program at Mount Sinai.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Michael Camilleri, MD Many of our patients suffer from bile acid diarrhea. In fact, it’s estimated that about a third of the patients with functional diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea actually have bile acid malabsorption or bile acid diarrhea, and one in every five adolescents with chronic diarrhea have evidence of bile acid diarrhea based on very simple blood tests. But despite its prevalence, bile acid diarrhea is often difficult to diagnose, which is why Dr. Peter Buch and Dr. Michael Camilleri from the Mayo Clinic come together to discuss key diagnostic and treatment strategies for bile acid diarrhea.

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: Kristle Lynch, MD There are many questions and considerations that arise when managing patients with eosinophilic esophagitis, which is exactly what the 2020 AGA guidelines seek to address. Joining Dr. Neil Nandi to walk us through those guidelines and how we can apply them to the care of our patients with eosinophilic esophagitis is Dr. Kristle Lynch, Associate Professor Clinical Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Jeffrey Hyams, MD Many studies focus on the impact of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in adult patients, but what about our youngest patients? To learn more about how we can treat our pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, Dr. Peter Buch speaks with Dr. Jeffrey Hyams, one of the world’s leading experts in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Joo Ha Hwang, MD, PhD Gastric cancer is rare, but not as rare as we think. This makes screening and surveilling patients at high risk extremely important, but with no current guidelines available on how to do so, what steps can we take to make a difference in gastric cancer outcomes? To find out, Dr. Peter Buch speaks with Dr. Joo Ha Hwang, a Professor of Medicine at the Stanford University Medical Center who shares his insights on the early detection of gastrointestinal malignancies.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Hamita Sachar, MD Over the years, there has been an immense focus on defining what really constitutes a high-quality endoscopy, but many questions still remain regarding what that actually looks like in practice and how we can ensure quality in endoscopy units. That’s why Director of Ambulatory Services and Digestive Disease at Yale School of Medicine Dr. Hamita Sachar joins Dr. Peter Buch to help address some of those questions.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Russell D. Cohen, MD, FACG, AGAF Are patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at increased risk for COVID-19 infection? And what should we recommend for an IBD patient in remission who tests positive for COVID-19 versus a patient with active disease? These are just some of the questions that have arisen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the questions Dr. Peter Buch explores with Dr. Russell Cohen, Director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and Co-Director of the Advanced IBD Fellowship Program at the University of Chicago School of Medicine.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Mark Pimentel, MD Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can be a challenging condition to navigate due to the several controversies surrounding its testing and treatment. Joining Dr. Peter Buch to discuss these complex issues and controversies is Dr. Mark Pimentel, Director of the Medically Associated Science and Technology Program at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles and author of the “ACG Clinical Guideline Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth” article published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2020.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Prateek Sharma, MD The evaluation and treatment of Barrett’s esophagus has been evolving over the last several years, but there are still many controversies and unanswered questions surrounding it. So to help answer some of these questions, Dr. Peter Buch speaks with Dr. Prateek Sharma, author of the “AGA Clinical Practice Update on Endoscopic Treatment of Barrett’s Esophagus with Dysplasia and/or Early Cancer Expert Review,” which was published in the Gastroenterology journal in 2020.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Asher A. Kornbluth, MD Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many questions have arisen regarding the care of our patients with IBD. Are they at increased risk of COVID-19? How should we treat a patient with IBD who has active COVID-19? Should they get vaccinated, and if so, when? These are all questions Dr. Peter Buch addresses with Dr. Asher Kornbluth, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, to help us optimize our approach to care amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH Bezlotoxumab is an IV antitoxin infusion treatment option for Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that’s been shown to reduce recurrence in IBD patients…so why isn’t it being used as much as it should be? Here to share the latest data and insights on bezlotoxumab as a treatment option for IBD patients with C. diff is Dr. Jessica Allegretti, Associate Director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center and Director of the Fecal Microbiota Transplant Program at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH Also known as C. diff for short, Clostridium difficile is an extremely difficult intestinal disease to manage…but not an impossible one. Joining Dr. Neil Nandi to share her insights on how to best mange C. diff in IBD patients is Dr. Jessica Allegretti, the Associate Director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center and the Director of the Fecal Microbiota Transplant Program at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD Guest: Kate Scarlata, MPH, RDN Many patients tailor their diets to their gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS, and adopt a low FODMAP regimen. What skills do we need to help screen patients for FODMAP sensitivities and identify foods they should avoid? Dr. Neil Nandi will be discussing these skills with Kate Scarlata, a registered dietitian, and a New York Times best-selling author.

Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP Guest: Laurie Keefer, PhD While diagnosing irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease is critical to care, treating these illnesses and improving quality of life is just as important. Joining Dr. Peter Buch to share strategies to help counsel and care for our patients beyond diagnosis is Dr. Laurie Keefer, Professor of Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.