TY - JOUR T1 - Highlights from this issue JF - Gut JO - Gut SP - i LP - ii DO - 10.1136/gutjnl-2012-302083 VL - 61 IS - 3 AU - Emad El-Omar AU - William Grady AU - Alexander Gerbes Y1 - 2012/03/01 UR - http://gut.bmj.com/content/61/3/i.abstract N2 - H1N1 influenza vaccination and IBDThe global pandemic of novel influenza A (H1N1) affected 70 countries in 2009. There was particular concern for infection in immunocompromised patients, including those with IBD. The 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine produced seroprotection rates of >85% in the general population but there are no data on the immunogenicity of the vaccine in patients with IBD. In this issue of Gut, Cullen et al report their observational prospective open-label study which examined the immunogenicity of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in IBD patients. Patients with IBD vaccinated with the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine had a low rate of seroprotection, particularly those who were immunosuppressed or received combination immunosuppression (see table 1). An assay of T lymphocyte function may indicate those at risk of low rates of vaccine response. The work highlights the need for studies of the clinical benefit of vaccines in this population and patients with IBD need to be aware of this reduced immunogenicity (see page 385).View this table:In this windowIn a new windowTable 1 Post-vaccination seroprotection rates (defined as HI ≥40) for the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine shown as percentages in all subjects (n=105)Visceral hypersensitivity in endometriosisPatients with minimal to mild endometriosis often have symptoms that are out of proportion to the laparoscopic findings. The reason for this observation is unknown. IBS is also common in … ER -