Extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease.
In each case of extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease, active disease, if present, should be treated to induce remission, which may positively influence the course of most concomitant extraintestinal manifestations. For some extraintestinal manifestations, however, a specific treatment should be introduced. This latter part of disease management will be discussed in this chapter, in particular for pyoderma gangrenosum, uveitis, spondylarthropathy--axial arthropathy--and primarysclerosing cholangitis, which have also been described in quiescent Crohn's disease. Few new drugs for the treatment of extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease have been developed in the past and only the role of infliximab has increased in Crohn's disease-related extraintestinal manifestations. Drugs specifically aimed at this treatment, stemming from a few randomized controlled studies or case series, are sulfasalazine, 5-ASA, corticosteroids, azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine, methotrexate, infliximab, dapsone and cyclosporine or tacrolimus.
Juillerat
Pascal
P
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Lausanne University Medical Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mottet
Christian
C
Froehlich
Florian
F
Felley
Christian
C
Vader
John-Paul
JP
Burnand
Bernard
B
Gonvers
Jean-Jacques
JJ
Michetti
Pierre
P
D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000209:etiology*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D017511:Pyoderma Gangrenosum / Q000209:etiology*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000209:etiology*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000209:etiology*