The treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rapidly changing with the addition of newer therapies. Physicians who treat patients with IBD must remain up to date in the treatment of this disease and be aware how these newer medications fit into the treatment strategies currently employed.

Overview

This program discusses the medical therapies currently used to treat IBD and highlights newer medications that are being added to the armamentarium. Post-operative care is reviewed, including assessing risk for those patients at higher risk for having a post-op recurrence and the treatment of pouchitis. The use of probiotics for treatment of pouchitis is featured. The management of special treatment populations is also discussed, including children and the elderly, as well as treatment of women during pregnancy.

Audience

This program has been specifically developed to update and educate gastroenterologists and primary care physicians who provide care for people with inflammatory bowel disease

Learning objectives

 Outline the medications currently used in the treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

 Describe how the use of biologic therapy has changed the way treatment is measured in IBD

 Differentiate risk factors that may put patients with IBD at higher risk of developing post-operative recurrence

 Discuss the current research into the use of probiotics to treat post-operative pouchitis

 Outline treatment issues that are specific to pediatric patients with IBD

 Formulate a list of medications used to treat IBD that are safe to use during pregnancy

 Describe some of the common drug-drug interactions to be aware of when treating IBD

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The discussion is moderated by
Dr Holly Atkinson

Faculty

Kim Isaacs MD, PhD
(Program Chair)
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
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Athos Bousvaros MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School
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Marla Dubinsky MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine
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Gary Lichtenstein MD
Professor of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
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James Marion MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
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Faculty disclosure information

CME credit
The American Gastroenterological Association offers users in the United States continuing medical education (CME) credit for participating in this learning module.
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Accreditation statement

How has the emergence of biologic therapy changed the way treatment of IBD is approached?

Topic overview: Post-operative care

Is there a consensus on the standard of care for post-operative prophylaxis?

Topic overview: Treatment of special populations

How does the use of steroids in children with IBD differ from adults?

What are the effects of pregnancy on IBD?

What are some of the drug-drug interactions one should be aware of when treating a person with IBD?

Faculty disclosure information

In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education Standards for Commercial Support, faculty members for this activity were each asked to complete financial disclosure forms. Disclosures are provided below.

Athos Bousvaros MD
Consultant: Altus Biologics

Marla Dubinsky MD
Consultant: Prometheus Laboratories
Grant/Research Support: AstraZeneca

Kim Isaacs MD, PhD
Grant/Research Support: Immunex, Salix, Elan, Centocor
Speakers' Bureau: AstraZeneca, Centocor, Salix

Gary Lichtenstein MD
Consultant: AstraZeneca, Axcan, Centocor, Faro, Proctor and Gamble, Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., Protein Design Labs, Protomed Scientific, Salix, Schering-Plough, Shire, Smith Kline Beecham, Solvay
Grant/Research Support: Abbott, Celgene, Celltech, Centocor, Genetics Institute, Inkine, Inc., Intesco, ISIS, Otsuka, Protein Design Labs, Protomed Scientific, Salix
Speakers' Bureau: AstraZeneca, Axcan, Centocor, Faro, Proctor and Gamble, Salix, Schering-Plough, Shire, Solvay
Honorarium: Falk

James Marion MD
Consultant: Celltech
Grant/Research Support: Proctor and Gamble
Speakers' Bureau: Shire, Proctor and Gamble, Solvay, Salix, Johnson and Johnson

Accreditation statement

The views expressed herein, while consistent with current medical literature, are solely those of the faculty.

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.

The AGA designates this educational activity for a maximum of 2 credit hours in Category 1 credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

All presenters participating in continuing medical education programs sponsored by the AGA are expected to disclose to the program audience any real or apparent conflict(s) of interest related to the content of their presentation. In addition, presenters and moderators are asked to make a reasonable effort to identify for the program audience any discussion of off-label or investigative use or application of a product or device that may occur during the educational presentation.

Funding for the development and production of the Current and emerging therapies in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease multimedia module was provided through an unrestricted educational grant from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.