title: Medical management of postoperative recurrence in Crohn's disease.
abstract: More than half of Crohn's disease patients require surgery during the course of their disease. Although endoscopic recurrence does not necessarily imply that patients have symptom recurrence, the high need for repeated surgery indicates that lesions gradually developing after surgical remission lead to fibrostenosis or other complications. Despite multiple clinical trials a clear medical strategy to prevent disease recurrence has not been identified. Future well designed collaborative trials with specified end points are needed to optimize clinical practice in the prevention of postoperative Crohn's disease recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Leuven, 49 Herestraat, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. gert.vanassche@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Assche
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rutgeerts
mesh_terms: D000636:Aminosalicylic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019819:Budesonide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003663:Decision Trees; D006801:Humans; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D000636:Aminosalicylic Acids; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D019819:Budesonide; D015122:Mercaptopurine