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AppenDectomy Vs ANti TNF-a in Inducing Clinical and EnDoscopic Remission in Left-sided Ulcerative Colitis

NCT05931458 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 94

Last updated 2023-07-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) characterized by a multifactorial etiology, a variable involvement of large bowel, and a relapsing-remitting course.

In order to keep the disease in a "quiescent" status and to prevent relapses, a significative percentage of UC patients will remain on long-term drug therapy. However, long-term immunosuppressant therapy is not free of risks and complications: in fact, these therapies have an impact on both healthcare system resources and patients' quality of life; more, there are even concerns regarding the side effects of long-term immunosuppressant therapy.

Over the past 20 years, a considerable amount of evidence was produced to support the immunomodulatory role of the appendix in the development and course of UC: there is a strong inverse relationship between previous appendectomy and development of the UC. One of the proposed theories to justify this link is that the appendix could act as a reservoir for commensal bacteria that can be secreted into the colon, affecting its microbiome and immunological response; another theory describes the appendix as the "priming site" for the cytokine production and the immunological cascade that may trigger inflammation in colon and rectum.

The idea of this study moves from these assumptions: the investigators aim to evaluate the impact of appendectomy in patients with UC who are candidates to the treatment with biologics (Anti TNF-a), because of conventional therapies failure. To further reduce any ethical problems and significantly lower any surgical morbidity, investigators will restrict the study population to only patients with active left-sided colitis, so that the surgery for appendectomy will take place on a non-inflamed cecum.

By undertaking this study, the investigators hope to a) learn more about the role of appendix and the impact of appendectomy in the clinical history of Ulcerative Colitis; b) demonstrate that laparoscopic appendectomy, a relatively simple surgical procedure that can also be performed in day-surgery with a very low expected complication rate, is a treatment that is superior to biological therapy, avoiding patients starting a chronic, long-lasting therapy, with the consequent risk of immunosuppression, and with possible higher costs for the health system in the long term.

Conditions

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Appendectomy

Laparoscopic appendectomy is a relatively simple surgical procedure that can be performedby most surgeons, either on an outpatient basis or with a single-night hospital stay. The laparoscopic approach is now the recommended option due to faster recovery times and fewer wound complications.

DRUG

Infliximab

Administration of Infliximab (Anti-TNF-a biologic drug)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Crohn's and Colitis Foundation

    collaborator OTHER

  • Federico II University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Gaetano Luglio, Prof · Federico II University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-07-01
Primary Completion
2024-07-01
Completion
2028-07-01

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Entities

Drugs
Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05931458 on ClinicalTrials.gov