A very widescale international multicentric study directed by Jean-Frédéric Colombel of the Huriez Hospital in Lille, France, William J. Sandborn of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, and Paul Rutgeerts of the University Hospital of Louvain, Belgium compared the efficacy and safety of treatment with either infliximab or azathioprine or a combination of the two in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease. That study involved 508 patients randomly separated into 3 equivalent groups corresponding to the three different treatments. Efficacy was defined as clinical remission not requiring steroids at 26 weeks of treatment. The treatment period was prolonged to week 30 and patients were followed up until week 50. Infliximab given alone was more effective than azathioprine alone. The association of the two drugs had even better efficacy, with clearly defined mucosal healing. Undesirable effects of the three treatments were comparable.

This study is extremely important for physicians, as it will help them to choose the most appropriate treatment for rapidly healing their patients.

Reference:

Colombel JF, Sandborn WJ, Reinisch W, Mantzaris GJ, Kornbluth A, Rachmilewitz D, Lichtiger S, D'Haens G, Diamond RH, Broussard DL, Tang KL, van der Woude CJ, Rutgeerts P; SONIC Study Group. Infliximab, azathioprine, or combination therapy for Crohn's disease. N Engl J Med. 2010 Apr 15;362(15):1383-95.