Management of Crohn’s disease: summary of updated NICE guidance

### What you need to know Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disease that mainly affects the gastrointestinal tract. Approximately 115 000 people are living with Crohn’s in the UK. There is no known cure, so the aim of medical treatment is to induce or maintain absence of symptoms (remission). If symptoms are refractory to medication, surgical resection may be required. Post-surgical recurrence is common, with approximately 20-40% of patients requiring reoperation within 10 years.12 This article summarises recent recommendations from the update of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline for the management of Crohn’s disease in children, young people, and adults.3 The focus of this update is on maintaining remission in people with Crohn’s disease after surgery. It does not cover people who have had surgery and are not in remission—for example, people who have active disease at other sites. All other areas of the guideline, such as induction of remission and surgery, remain …