Practice Guidelines
Crohn’s Disease: ACG Releases Updated Management Guidelines
Am Fam Physician. 2018 Dec 15;98(12):756-757.
Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations.
Key Points for Practice
• Fecal calprotectin testing can help distinguish inflammatory bowel disease from irritable bowel syndrome.
• Short-term oral corticosteroids can be prescribed to treat moderate to severe Crohn’s disease.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cigarette smoking should be avoided because of their link to worsening disease activity.
From the AFP Editors
Options for managing Crohn’s disease continue to increase, as does the prevalence of the disease. The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) has released an updated clinical practice guideline outlining features of the disease, as well as diagnosis and treatment options. Treatment guidance is based on the location and severity of disease, adverse effects, and prognosis; treatment options should be individualized to each patient based on their response and tolerance levels. Patients with mild to moderate Crohn’s disease are typically ambulatory and can tolerate oral nutrition without adverse effects (e.g., dehydration, intestinal obstruction, abdominal pain, weight loss), whereas patients with moderate to severe disease are those whose condition is not amenable to treatment used for mild to moderate disease or who experience more severe symptoms such as significant weight loss, abdominal pain, or anemia. Patients with severe disease have symptoms of intestinal obstruction and peritoneal signs or symptoms that persist despite treatment with corticosteroids or biologic agents in the outpatient setting.
Recommendations
HIGH-LEVEL EVIDENCE
Moderate to Severe Disease. In persons with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease who are naïve to immunomodulators or infliximab (Remicade), treatment with these medications combined is more effective than monotherapy. Patients in whom corticosteroids, thiopurines, methotrexate, or anti– tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors have been ineffective, as well as those who have not taken anti-TNF inhibitors previously, should receive ustekinumab (
Coverage of guidelines from other organizations does not imply endorsement by AFP or the AAFP.
This series is coordinated by Sumi Sexton, MD, Editor-in-Chief.
A collection of Practice Guidelines published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/practguide.
Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP. Contact
afpserv@aafp.org for copyright questions and/or permission requests.
Want to use this article elsewhere? Get Permissions
CME Quiz
More in AFP
Editor's Collections
Related Content
More in Pubmed
MOST RECENT ISSUE
Email Alerts
Don't miss a single issue. Sign up for the free AFP email table of contents.