| [ Summary ] |
In order to improve long-term outcomes for patients with Crohn's disease, mucosal healing must be recognized as an important therapeutic goal. Crohn's disease has a high incidence of small intestinal lesions which is important in determining the prognosis by causing complications such as strictures. It is often difficult to estimate disease activity in the small intestine because small intestinal lesions may be asymptomatic with minimumal or no change in laboratory findings. Therefore, subjective evaluation of small intestinal lesions is important to determine therapeutic strategies for Crohn's disease treatment. Endoscopic observation, using capsule endoscopy and balloon-assisted endoscopy is very useful for evaluation of mucosal healing of small intestinal lesions. Moreover, balloon-assisted endoscopy is useful for endoscopic balloon dilation of small intestinal strictures observed in Crohn's disease. |