title: Practical application of anti-TNF therapy for luminal Crohn's disease.
abstract: Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy to treat inflammatory bowel disease has been available for more than a decade. Although extensive data on the outcome of anti-TNF therapy from individual clinical trials and patient cohorts are available, integrated guidance on the best use of such therapy to achieve optimal clinical outcomes when managing patients with luminal Crohn's disease is lacking. This review combines published data to establish practical strategies for anti-TNF therapy with respect to effective and safe timing of introduction, use of concurrent immunosuppressive therapy, dose escalation, managing relapse, changing drugs, pregnancy and breast feeding, and stopping drug treatment.
authors.affiliation: St Vincent's Hospital and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. mkamm@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kamm
authors.forename: Siew C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Cruz
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Hanauer
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha