[5-Aminosalicylic acid in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease (author's transl)]

5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA, 0.5 g t.i.d. as suppository) was administered to 10 patients with ulcerative colitis and 4 patients with Crohn's disease. Both diseases were active despite out-patient pretreatment in 9 cases for at least 6 weeks with sulfasalazine (1.5-3.0 g/d) and corticosteroids. Prior to 5-ASA treatment the activity index according to Best was 241 +/- 85 for the ulcerative colitis patients and 263 +/- 83 for the Crohn's disease patients. After an admission of 4 to 6 weeks treatment with 5-ASA led to a significant decrease (P less than 0.0001) to 43 +/- 38 in the ulcerative colitis patients whereas the decrease in the Crohn group was markedly less to 165 +/- 129 (P less than 0.035). Apart from two patients with Crohn's disease the antiphlogistic effect of 5-ASA could be proven by endoscopy, histomorphology and (or) radiography with an 86% remission rate and by the improved faecal quality (n = 12). The results show that 5-ASA leads to improvement in part only of patients with Crohn's disease, however that all patients with ulcerative colitis respond to this biologically active metabolite. Particularly due to absence of undesirable side effects 5-ASA represents an advantageous possibility for treatment.