Comparative Study of Two Cohorts of Newly Diagnosed Crohn's Disease Demonstrates Change in Therapeutic Strategies

Background: There has been a paradigm shift in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) involving the rapid introduction of biologics and/or immunomodulators after diagnosis. We wished to assess whether this was applied to patients with newly diagnosed CD in a tertiary inflammatory bowel disease referral centre in Israel. Methods: Newly diagnosed CD patients were stratified into 2 groups: the early group was diagnosed between 2005 and 2007 and the late group was diagnosed between 2010 and 2012. Baseline demographics, medical and surgical treatments, disease course and complications during those 2 periods were analyzed. Results: Each group included 60 patients. Significantly higher rates of immunomodulators and biologics were administered to patients in the late group compared to the early group (81.7 and 36.7% compared to 56.7 and 18.3%, p = 0.004 and p = 0.021, respectively). On the other hand, steroid therapy was less prevalent in the late (36.7%) group compared to that of the early group (56.7%), p = 0.059. Medical and surgical CD outcomes, including exacerbations/hospitalizations and surgeries, were comparable for both groups. Conclusions: There was a change in treatment strategy between 2005-2007 and 2010-2012, as reflected in higher proportions of biologics/immunomodulators for patients with newly diagnosed CD. This was associated with a steroid-sparing effect.