Natural history of Crohn's disease in patients who underwent intentional restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease is generally considered a relative contraindication for restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anastomosis (IPAA). The natural history of IPAA in these patients has not well been defined.

AIM: To evaluate the natural history of IPAA in patients with a well-defined preoperative Crohn's disease.

METHODS: All patients from the Pouchitis Clinic who had a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn's disease were screened and 11 patients met the inclusion criteria. The control group (with a 1:4 ratio) consisted of IPAA patients with a preoperative diagnosis of UC.

RESULTS: During the follow-up period of 5.0 years, 7 of 11 (63.6%) with a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn's disease developed Crohn's disease of the pouch. Crohn's disease of the pouch developed 0.2-15 years after ileostomy closure. The remaining four patients with a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn's disease did not demonstrate signs of Crohn's disease in 2, 11, 11 and 24 years after pouch surgery, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Post-operative development of Crohn's disease of the pouch was common in patients with a preoperative diagnosis of Crohn's disease who underwent IPAA. Long-term medical therapy was often required. Large multi-centre studies are warranted to delineate further the natural history of the disease, before Crohn's disease is considered an indication for IPAA.