Early Intervention with Infliximab Prevents Reoperation in Crohn's Disease: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to evaluate the prognostic factors that can aid in the prevention of first and second surgeries in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

METHODS

The clinical records of 115 patients with CD whose disease onset was between January 1987 and July 2012 were retrospectively investigated. The cumulative rate of bowel resection for CD-related intestinal manifestations following onset until the first surgery and the cumulative rate of reoperation following the first to second surgeries were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the relationship to each factor was statistically analyzed using the log-rank test. The background factors that influenced the cumulative rate of the first surgery and reoperation were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

The cumulative bowel resection rate was significantly higher in patients with ileocolitis-type CD (p = 0.0018) and in those with CD with smoking habits (p = 0.0315). And the cumulative reoperation rate was significantly higher in patients with ileocolitis-type CD (p = 0.0161) and those without early intervention with infliximab (p = 0.0161).

CONCLUSIONS

Ileocolitis-type CD and smoking habit might be initiating factors for bowel resection due to CD-related intestinal manifestations. Early intervention with infliximab likely prevents reoperation for CD recurrence.