title: Severe ulcerative colitis: present medical treatment strategies.
abstract: A total of 15-19% of ulcerative colitis patients have a severe attack at some time during their illness. As a consequence of its high associated mortality and morbidity rates, a close collaboration between gastroenterologists and surgeons in their management is mandatory, in order to define, as best as possible, the timing of surgery (i.e., colectomy) when patients fail to respond to medical treatment or worsen despite optimal medical treatment. The first step in medical treatment consists of using intravenous corticosteroids as they have been demonstrated to reduce drastically the mortality rates. However, at 1 year approximately 25% of patients become corticosteroid dependent and 30% require colectomy, which can consistently affect their quality of life. Therefore, intravenous ciclosporin has been proposed as a rescue therapy, with a further improvement of short-term efficacy and reduction of surgery requirement. Nevertheless, its use is associated with a risk of toxicity and intravenous ciclosporin is not easy to use in non-specialised centres. In addition, long-term studies suggest that colectomy is often only delayed and relapse frequent. Consequently, some authors evaluate the potential use of infliximab. Available data are encouraging, reporting a significant short-term reduction in colectomy rate. Nevertheless, additional trials are required to better define the more effective and safe treatment option(s), for both the short- and long-term, in this patient setting; a question addressed in ongoing trials.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hépato-Gastro-Entérologie et Nutrition, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen, Hôpital Côte de Nacre, Avenue Côte de Nacre, 14033 Caen Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baudet
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rahmi
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bretagne
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gloro
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Justum
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Reimund
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003082:Colectomy; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069285:Infliximab; D007275:Injections, Intravenous
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine; D000069285:Infliximab