title: Conventional therapy for Crohn's disease.
abstract: Crohn's disease (CD) is a multifactorial disorder of unknown cause. Outstanding progress regarding the pathophysiology of CD has led to the development of innovative therapeutic concepts. Numerous controlled trials have been performed in CD over the last years. However, many drugs have not been approved by regulatory authorities due to lack of efficacy or severe side effects. Therefore, well-known drugs, including 5-ASA, systemic or topical corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants such as azathioprine, are still the mainstay of CD therapy. Importantly, biologicals such as infliximab have shown to be efficacious in problematic settings such as fistulizing or steroid-dependent CD. This review is intended to give practical guidelines to clinicians for the conventional treatment of CD. We concentrated on the results of randomized, placebo-controlled trials and meta-analyses, when available, that provide the highest degree of evidence. We provide evidence-based treatment algorithms whenever possible. However, many clinical situations have not been answered by controlled clinical trials and it is important to fill these gaps through expert opinions. We hope that this review offers a useful tool for clinicians in the challenging treatment of CD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Endocrinology, Charité Campus Mitte, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Schumannstrasse 20/21, Berlin 10117, Germany. carsten.buening@charite.de
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Büning
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lochs
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019819:Budesonide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000069285:Infliximab; D019804:Mesalamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D044623:Nutrition Therapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D019804:Mesalamine; D019819:Budesonide; D000069285:Infliximab; D001379:Azathioprine; D008727:Methotrexate