Intestinal lavage in the treatment of Crohn's disease: a pilot study

Taking into account that a damaged mucosal barrier may be responsible for the impairment and some systemic complications in Crohn's disease, we employed intestinal lavage as a therapeutic method in six patients suffering from active Crohn's disease. The results were compared with those obtained from a control group that received similar treatment with the exception of the lavage. Intestinal lavage was carried out with 18 1 of normal saline administered via a jejunal tube over a period of 2 h. The lavage procedure was tolerated well by all patients. A significant decrease of the Crohn's disease activity index and a significantly lower hospitalization time suggest a benefit in using the lavage method. Provided that these results can be confirmed in a larger series of patients, intestinal lavage may contribute to the strategy of conservative treatment of Crohn's disease.