Duration of maintenance therapy for quiescent Crohn disease

Canadian Medical Association Journal 1996; 155: 306

To determine whether the duration of remission influenced the risk of relapse in patients who discontinued maintenance immunosuppressive therapy, researchers in France analysed the time to relapse in 157 patients with Crohn disease who had been treated with azathioprine (AZA) or 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and had been in clinical remission (not dependent on steroids) for more than 6 months. Drug withdrawal was found to be associated with a higher risk of relapse before the fourth year of remission but not thereafter. Given the potential risks of long-term immunosuppression, the authors concluded that withdrawal of AZA and 6-MP should be considered in patients with Crohn disease who have been in remission for 4 years or more.

Source: Bouhnik Y, Lémann M, Mary JY, Scemama G, Taï R, Matuchansky C, et al. Long-term follow-up of patients with Crohn's disease treated with azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine. Lancet 1996; 347: 215-9.

| CMAJ August 1, 1996 (vol 155, no 3) |