INTESTINE Vol.14 No.5(3)

Theme Surgical therapy for Crohn's disease -- Essentials for physician
Title Surgical indication of Crohn's disease -- An opinion from gastroenterologist
Publish Date 2010/09
Author Koji Yoshida Department of Lower Gastroenterology, Hyogo College of Medicine
Author Takayuki Matsumoto Department of Lower Gastroenterology, Hyogo College of Medicine
[ Summary ] Crohn's disease (CD) is a major form of idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The etiology of CD is insufficiently elucidated therefore, the primary aim of current CD therapy is to achieve earlier induction and longer maintenance of clinical remission to improve patients' quality of life.
However, CD patients often require intestinal resection due to intestinal complications, such as perforations, fistula, and strictures. Continuous post surgical medication is often required in order to prevent future relapse. Therefore, to prevent complications, aggressive therapy should be chosen during the early stages of the disease to avoid recurrence of active CD inflammation.
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