Crohn's Disease: A Clinical Summary

Nazminia, Kara

Publication

Crohn's Disease: A Clinical Summary

Nazminia, Kara

Description

Crohn’s disease (CD) is an immune-mediated chronic intestinal condition that affects nearly 780,000 patients in the United States. Patients with Crohn’s disease often present with various gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in addition to other, more specific symptoms such as malabsorption and pertinent laboratory derangements (Peppercorn, 2019). For many of these patients, CD not only causes physical barriers to normal life but also presents social and mental barriers. The etiology of this disease is largely unknown currently; infectious, immunologic, and genetic factors are thought to play a role (Boyapati, 2015). Treatment of Crohn’s disease is guideline-driven and focuses on obtaining remission of symptoms and maintaining remission. Many medications can achieve these goals and with the advent of antibody directed therapies, the number of medications with promise in this disease is rapidly growing. Many of the new medications pose a great opportunity for pharmacists to get involved in patient-centered medical care through therapeutic drug monitoring, education, and assistance with symptom remission and control.