title: [Utility of infliximab therapy in severe enterorrhagia associated with Crohn's disease. Report of three cases].
abstract: Severe lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is an infrequent complication in Crohn's disease. We report the cases of three patients with Crohn's disease, localized in distinct areas, who developed severe enterorrhagia requiring multiple transfusions. All three patients responded favorably to infliximab administration, which resolved the life-threatening hemorrhages and avoided emergency surgical resection, which had seemed inevitable. Based on this clinical experience and a review of the literature comparing infliximab with other pharmacological options, we believe that this drug should be the treatment of choice in patients with Crohn's disease who develop severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding. This strategy can, in some cases, avoid surgery if the bleeding stops due to rapid healing of the deep mucosal lesions causing the hemorrhagic episode.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Gastroenterología, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alcalde Vargas
authors.forename: José Manuel Herrera
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Justiniano
authors.forename: Eduardo Leo
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Carnerero
authors.forename: Claudio Trigo
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Salado
authors.forename: Ignacio Gutiérrez
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Domingo
authors.forename: José Luis Márquez
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Galán
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D000069285:Infliximab; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000069285:Infliximab