Early versus late surgery for ileo-caecal Crohn's disease

Surgical resection is almost inevitable in Crohn's disease. Surgery is usually performed for refractory or complicated disease: no studies appear to have been carried out, so far, to evaluate the potential benefits of performing surgery early in the course of the disease.

To compare the long-term course of Crohn's disease following ileo-caecal resection performed at the time of diagnosis (early surgery) or during the course of the disease (late surgery). Patients and methods Overall 207 patients with ileo-caecal Crohn's disease at their first resection were reviewed: 83 patients underwent surgery at the time of diagnosis (early surgery), while 124 underwent surgery 54.2 months (range 1-438) after diagnosis (late surgery). The mean follow-up after surgery was 147 months (range 12-534). The primary endpoint was clinical recurrence, defined as need for corticosteroids for symptomatic disease in the presence of endoscopic and/or radiologic recurrence. Secondary endpoints were need for immunosuppressants and surgical recurrence.

Kaplan-Meier survival method and Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Within 10 years after surgery, the cumulative probability of clinical recurrence was significantly lower in the early surgery group (Log Rank test P = 0.01). A trend was observed regarding the need for immunosuppressants (P = 0.05). No difference was observed regarding surgical recurrence. At multivariate analysis, early surgery was the only independent variable associated with a reduced risk of clinical recurrence (Hazard ratio, HR = 0.57; 95% CI 0.35 to 0.92, P = 0.02), but not with need for immunosuppressants and surgical recurrence (HR = 0.51; 95% CI 0.20 to 1.30, P = 0.15; HR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.33 to 1.35, P = 0.25, respectively).

Early surgery prolongs clinical remission compared to surgery performed during the course of the disease, but the natural history of disease is not modified.