title: Postoperative Effects of Thiopurines in Patients with Intestinal Behçet's Disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  No studies have heretofore specifically focused on the efficacy of postoperative thiopurine therapy in intestinal Behçet's disease (BD). We conducted this study to assess the clinical effects of postoperative thiopurines in patients with intestinal BD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the medical records of all patients with intestinal BD who had undergone bowel resection surgery in a single tertiary academic medical center between 1991 and 2013. The cumulative probabilities of clinical recurrence were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and predictive factors for recurrence were assessed by multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 77 patients with intestinal BD received 5-ASA (n = 50, 64.9%) or thiopurine (n = 27, 35.1%) therapy after surgery at our center. The postoperative recurrence rate was lower in patients who received postoperative thiopurines (P = 0.050). The hazard ratio for recurrence was 0.636 (95% confidence interval 0.130-1.016, P = 0.053) for postoperative thiopurine use compared with postoperative 5-ASA. However, the rates of re-operation, re-admission, and death were not significantly different between the 5-ASA and thiopurine groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thiopurine therapy after surgery exhibited a modest effect in preventing recurrence in intestinal BD patients. More patients, long-term follow-up, and a randomized controlled design are necessary to validate the effectiveness of postoperative thiopurines in patients with this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea. geniushee@yuhs.ac.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. geniushee@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Jae Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cheon
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Pil
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Il
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea.|Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Won Ho
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000636:Aminosalicylic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000636:Aminosalicylic Acids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D015122:Mercaptopurine; D001379:Azathioprine
keywords: 5-ASA; Behçet’s disease; Clinical recurrence; Intestinal Behçet’s disease; Surgery; Thiopurine