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Effectiveness of an ‘half elemental diet’ as maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease: a randomized‐controlled trial
Author(s) -
TAKAGI S.,
UTSUNOMIYA K.,
KURIYAMA S.,
YOKOYAMA H.,
TAKAHASHI S.,
IWABUCHI M.,
TAKAHASHI H.,
TAKAHASHI S.,
KINOUCHI Y.,
HIWATASHI N.,
FUNAYAMA Y.,
SASAKI I.,
TSUJI I.,
SHIMOSEGAWA T.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.03120.x
Subject(s) - elemental diet , medicine , randomized controlled trial , crohn's disease , regimen , maintenance therapy , enteral administration , parenteral nutrition , medical nutrition therapy , hazard ratio , adverse effect , gastroenterology , disease , confidence interval , chemotherapy
Summary Background Although thiopurines have a proven role in maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease, an alternative therapy is needed for patients intolerant or resistant to thiopurines. Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of home enteral nutrition as a maintenance therapy regimen in which half of the daily calorie requirement is provided by an elemental diet and the remaining half by a free diet. We refer to this home enteral nutrition therapy as ‘half elemental diet’. Methods Between 2002 and 2005, 51 patients in remission from two hospitals were randomly assigned to a half elemental diet group ( n = 26) or a free diet group ( n = 25). The primary outcome measure of this study was the occurrence of relapse over the 2‐year period. Results The relapse rate in the half elemental diet group was significantly lower [34.6% vs. 64.0%; multivariate hazard ratio 0.40 (95% CI: 0.16–0.98)] than that in the free diet group after a mean follow‐up of 11.9 months. Compliance was similar in the two groups. No adverse event occurred in any of the patients throughout the study. Conclusion This randomized‐controlled trial shows the effectiveness of an half elemental diet, which is a promising maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease patients.