The medical management of Crohn's disease is a rapidly evolving field with expanding therapeutic drug options and treatment strategies. In addition to corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and anti-tumor necrosis (anti-TNF) agents, a new anti-adhesion medication (vedolizumab) has been approved. Individualized patient-based dosing of immunomodulators and biologic agents is now possible with therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). There is a changing paradigm in treatment goals to achieve deeper remission identified by composite clinical and endoscopic endpoints. More aggressive treatment strategies in the postoperative setting have been proposed due to emerging data on medication efficacy in this setting. Management algorithms that stratify CD patients into risk groups to balance treatment benefit against adverse events and costs are being developed to translate research into clinical practice. This review provides an update on these new developments for practicing gastroenterologists.
Keywords: Antibodies; Crohn’s disease management; Drug monitoring; Humanized/therapeutic use; Monoclonal; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha/antagonists and inhibitors.