title: Efficacy and Safety of Endoscopic Balloon Dilation for Upper Gastrointestinal Strictures of Crohn's Disease.
abstract: Few articles focused on endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) in the management of Crohn's strictures in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
  
  
  
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of EBD for Crohn's strictures in the upper GI tract and to determine early predictors of response and surgical intervention.
  
  
  
  All eligible patients who underwent EBD for Crohn's strictures in the upper GI tract were retrospectively reviewed. The long-term success was defined as the recovery of normal diets without surgical intervention over the follow-up period. In order to seek early predictors, patients who achieved long-term success were compared with those who didn't.
  
  
  
  A total of 67 dilations of upper GI strictures were performed between June 2011 and March 2015 on 24 patients (mean age 25.6 ± 6.7, 20 male) with Crohn's disease. Technical success was achieved in 62 of 67 dilations (92.5 %) with a complication rate of 3 %. After the median follow-up period of 23.0 months (range 6.2-51.2 months), nine patients underwent surgical intervention, nine patients were still depending on tube feeding; in the meantime, only six (25 %) patients achieved long-term success. Additionally, patients who remained 1 month intervention-free (55.6 vs. 5.9 %, P = 0.015) were more likely to achieve long-term success.
  
  
  
  EBD was a safe procedure, but not a potent therapy for Crohn's upper GI strictures. Meanwhile, 1-month response could serve as an early predictor of the long-term response.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Feilong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China. drzhuweiming@126.com.
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: National Clinical Research Center of Kidney Disease, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Aoxue
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, No. 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jieshou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D004106:Dilatation / Q000379:methods*; D004378:Duodenal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D004380:Duodenal Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000379:methods*; D004940:Esophageal Stenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D017219:Gastric Outlet Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011708:Pylorus / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Crohn’s disease; Early predictors; Endoscopic balloon dilation; Upper gastrointestinal strictures