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.