Usefulness of colestimide for diarrhea in postoperative Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease (CD) often causes intractable diarrhea after intestinal resection. Anion exchange resins have been reported to be effective in patients with bile acid diarrhea after distal ileectomy; furthermore, bile acid metabolism has been implicated in the pathogenesis of CD. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effectiveness of colestimide in the management of postoperative CD, and to compare its impact between patients with and those without ileocecal resection.

Postoperative CD patients prescribed colestimide for diarrhea between April 2017 and December 2020 were retrospectively evaluated for changes in the total Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), each CDAI component including diarrhea frequency/week, albumin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) was evaluated before and after the administration of colestimide. Furthermore, comprehensive patient and physician assessments were reviewed from medical records during the first outpatient visit as a global clinical judgment after the initiation of colestimide therapy.

A total of 24 patients were included, of whom 17 had a previous history of ileocecal resection. Significant improvement was noted in CDAI and diarrhea frequency only in the ileocecal resection group (CDAI: 114.5 ± 52.7 and 95.4 ± 34.8, P < 0.05; diarrhea frequency/week 23.8 ± 14.1 and 15.4 ± 11.2, P < 0.05, respectively). There was no significant improvement in other CDAI components, albumin level, or CRP level in either group. In the global clinical judgment, 13 and 4 patients in the ileocecal and non-ileocecal resection groups, respectively, were judged as "effective," with an overall efficacy rate of 70.8%.

Colestimide is effective for diarrhea in patients with postoperative CD, especially after ileocecal resection.