Burden of disease in IBD
Oxford has a track record in evaluating the burden of disease in IBD through Oxford IBD patient cohort (Satish Keshav) and the Oxford Record Linkage System (Professor Michael Goldacre) and collaboration with the General Practice Research Database (Tim Card, Nottingham). The work has received prizes at UEGW 2011 and ECCO 2012. Other areas of interest are response to vaccination against opportunistic infection, sexual function in IBD, the effect of smoking on mucosal function (combining clinical and laboratory-based studies) and extraintestinal manifestations – such as primary sclerosing cholangitis (Roger Chapman, with the largest cohort in the UK), neoplasia (molecular carcinogenesis, Simon Leedham), iron deficiency and ileal-pouch anal anastomosis. New data have shown that there is a unique clinical phenotype of PSC in Crohn’s disease, while the risk of colorectal malignancy in patients with Crohn’s disease and PSC is not increased (see publications). Surgical outcomes after colectomy, ileocaecal resection, combined medical and surgical management of fistulating Crohn’s disease are also being examined or open for study.