Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Therapy for Active Disease

Abstract

The optimal therapy for active inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD) is individualized according to the severity and the
location of the disease and furthermore, the particular needs
of each patient.
For ulcerative colitis (UC), topical therapy can be useful in
distal disease and the higher the dose of 5 ASA the better
the response. In Crohns disease (CD), budesonide is a
promising treatment for mild to moderate ileitis and rightsided
colitis. The anti-tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a)
antibody infliximab is an effective therapy for moderate to
severe inflammatory and fistulizing Crohns disease. Recent
studies have shown that infliximab is also effective in
the treatment of moderate to severe UC. For both UC and
CD, corticosteroids still remain the mainstay of treatment
in active disease.
The therapeutic goals in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
include induction of remission in patients with active disease
and maintenance of remission in those with quiescent
disease. Furthermore, therapy should prevent disease complications.
This review is focused on the standard therapeutic options
for inducing remission in patients with active IBD.