Efficacy of nutritional therapy for perforating and non-perforating Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Enteral nutrition is the currently established primary therapy for Crohn's disease in Japan. We examined the effects of postoperative nutritional therapy in patients with perforating type and non-perforating type Crohn's disease.

METHODOLOGY

We retrospectively reviewed the records for 218 patients who underwent surgical interventions for Crohn's disease in our hospital between January 1, 1974 and September 30, 2001. They were divided into four groups: 92 patients in the non-perforating type (NP type) + Elemental Diet (ED) group had received ED therapy and nutritional education, 22 patients in the NP type + NoED group had not received ED therapy or nutritional education, 88 patients in the perforating type (P type) + ED group and 16 patients in P type + NoED group. We evaluated the incidence of reoperation rate for each group.

RESULTS

Patients with a postoperative ED therapy demonstrated a significant decrease in the incidence of second resection. The incidence of second resection in the NP type + ED group was significantly lower than that of the other groups. The NP type + NoED group and the P type + ED group followed similar courses.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with Crohn's disease postoperative ED therapy and nutritional education is effective in reducing the incidence of second resection. It appears that postoperative ED therapy and nutritional education is more important in patients with P type Crohn's disease.