Ulcerative colitis patients who undergo ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) without mucosectomy may develop inflammation of the rectal cuff (cuffitis). Treatment of cuffitis typically includes mesalamine suppositories or corticosteroids, but refractory cuffitis may necessitate advanced therapies or procedural interventions. This review aims to summarize the existing literature regarding treatments options for cuffitis.

A broad search strategy was created by a medical librarian to capture cuffitis in IPAA patients. A total of 1877 citations were identified, and 957 studies remained after removal of 920 duplicates. Two reviewers screened all 957 abstracts and 294 full-text articles to determine if they were eligible for inclusion in this review.

Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Medical interventions were investigated in 16 studies with mesalamine and corticosteroid regimens being the most common, followed by ustekinumab, vedolizumab, hyperbaric oxygen, tofacitinib, risankizumab, and infliximab. Studies investigating mesalamine and corticosteroid use generally had larger samples (ranging 4-120 patients) and showed symptomatic improvement in 52-100% of patients and decreases of 1.14-1.8 points in endoscopic disease activity indices. In contrast, advanced therapy studies had small samples (ranging 1-21 patients) and variable responses. Seven studies explored endoscopic and surgical approaches including secondary mucosectomy, cuff resection, needle-knife therapy, and balloon dilation for concomitant outlet strictures. These techniques generally resulted in symptomatic resolution but were limited by small samples (ranging 3-40 patients).

Studies evaluating therapies used to treat cuffitis suggest benefit from conventional mesalamine or corticosteroid-based therapies, whereas data regarding advanced therapies and interventional procedures are inconsistent given small sample sizes.

Structural and inflammatory adverse sequelae are common after restorative proctocolectomy and IPAA. On rare occasions, neoplasia can occur in patients with ileal pouches. Pouchoscopy plays a key role in the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, disease monitoring, assessment of treatment response, surveillance, and delivery of therapy.

A systematic review of the literature was performed, and principles and techniques of pouchoscopy were described.

PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases.

Relevant articles on endoscopy in ileal pouches published between January 2000 and May 2023 were included based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Diagnostic, surveillance, and therapeutic endoscopy in ileal pouch disorders were included.

Accurate characterization of the ileal pouch in healthy or diseased states.

The main anatomic structures of a J- or S-pouch are the stoma closure site, prepouch ileum, inlet, tip of the "J," pouch body, anastomosis, cuff, and anal transition zone. Each anatomic location can be prone to the development of structural, inflammatory, or neoplastic disorders. For example, ulcers and strictures are common at the stoma closure site, inlet, and anastomosis. Leaks are commonly detected at the tip of the "J" and anastomosis. Characterization of the anastomotic distribution of inflammation is critical for the differential diagnosis of subtypes of pouchitis and other inflammatory disorders of the pouch. Neoplastic lesions, albeit rare, mainly occur at the cuff, anal transition zone, or anastomosis.

This is a qualitative, not quantitative, review of mainly case series.

Most structural, inflammatory, and neoplastic disorders can be reliably diagnosed with a careful pouchoscopy. The endoscopist and other clinicians taking care of pouch patients should be familiar with the anatomy of the ileal pouch and be able to recognize common abnormalities. See video from symposium.

Pouchitis is defined as inflammation of the ileal pouch created during a restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Although the incidence of this inflammatory condition is high, the exact etiology often remains unclear and the management challenging. In this review, we summarize the clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of this common complication.

In patients with ulcerative colitis or familial adenomatous polyposis who develop neoplasia or fail medical therapy and require colectomy, restorative proctocolectomy with IPAA is often indicated. Although often well tolerated, IPAA can be complicated by cuffitis or inflammation of the remaining rectal cuff. Although much has been published on this subject, there is no clear and comprehensive synthesis of the literature regarding cuffitis.

Our systematic literature review analyzes 34 articles to assess the frequency, cause, pathogenesis, diagnosis, classification, complications, and treatment of cuffitis.

Cuffitis occurs in an estimated 10.2% to 30.1% of pouch patients. Purported risk factors include rectal cuff length >2 cm, pouch-rectal anastomosis, stapled anastomosis, J-pouch configuration, 2- or 3-stage IPAA, preoperative Clostridium difficile infection, toxic megacolon, fulminant colitis, preoperative biologic use, medically refractory disease, immunomodulator/steroids use within 3 months of surgery, extraintestinal manifestations of IBD, and BMI <18.5 kg/m2 at the time of colectomy. Adverse consequences associated with cuffitis include decreased quality-of-life scores, increased risk for pouchitis, pouch failure, pouch excision, and pouch neoplasia.

Given the similarities between pouchitis and cuffitis, diagnosis and treatment of cuffitis should proceed according to the International Ileal Pouch Consortium guidelines. This review found that the majority of the current literature fails to distinguish between classic cuffitis (a form of reminant ulcerative proctitis) and nonclassic cuffitis (resulting from other causes). Further work is needed to distinguish the unique risk factors and endoscopic characteristics associated with each subtype, and further randomized clinical trials should be conducted to strengthen the evidence for treatment options.

Pouchitis, Crohn's disease of the pouch, cuffitis, polyps, and extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease are common inflammatory disorders of the ileal pouch. Acute pouchitis is treated with oral antibiotics and chronic pouchitis often requires anti-inflammatory therapy, including the use of biologics. Aetiological factors for secondary pouchitis should be evaluated and managed accordingly. Crohn's disease of the pouch is usually treated with biologics and its stricturing and fistulising complications can be treated with endoscopy or surgery. The underlying cause of cuffitis determines treatment strategies. Endoscopic polypectomy is recommended for large, symptomatic inflammatory polyps and polyps in the cuff. The management principles of extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease in patients with pouches are similar to those in patients without pouches.