| Abstrakt: |
We reviewed the courses of 63 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated in a private gastroenterology practice. All were allergic, unresponsive, or in some way intolerant of sulfasalazine and therefore were treated with Eudragit-S—coated mesalamine (Asacol). Thirty-eight patients had ulcerative colitis (UC) and 25 had Crohn's disease. In 22 and 14, respectively, mesalamine was used to treat active disease; in 16 and 11, respectively, it was introduced to maintain remission. In some patients, mesalamine was used along with other medications. Symptomatic and endoscopic response was seen in seven of nine (77) with active UC treated with mesalamine alone; remission was maintained in seven of eight (94) when mesalamine was used alone. Therapeutic success was noted in eight of 10 (80) with active Crohn's disease, and remission was maintained in seven of nine (78) when mesalamine was used alone. Adverse reactions of varying severity occurred in 21 of 63 (33), but the drug had to be terminated in only 9 of 63 (14). Eudragit-S—coated mesalamine appears to be effective in the treatment and maintenance of remission of UC in 82 of those patients allergic or intolerant to the parent drug, sulfasalazine. Furthermore, contrary to what was expected, we found it effective in a much larger percentage of patients with Crohn's disease (79) than the parent drug. |
