Treatment of Crohn's disease with peroral 5-aminosalicylic acid.

Eighteen patients with active Crohn's disease entered an open trial with 5-aminosalicylic acid in a slow-release preparation. All had lesions of the small bowel. Ten of them also had Crohn's disease of the colon. 5-Aminosalicylic acid, 500 mg three times daily, was administered for 6 wk. Even with meticulous monitoring, no side effects of any kind were observed, particularly no cases of renal affection, which could have been expected from animal studies. The clinical course was estimated as improved in 13 patients (72%), unchanged in 2 patients (11%), and aggravated in 3 patients (17%); 2 of these 3 were withdrawn from the study and switched to alternative treatment. The Crohn's disease activity index decreased from a median of 226 points to 99 points. On the basis of these results, large-scale controlled therapeutic trails seem warranted in order to establish clinical evidence for the benefit of peroral treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid in patients with Crohn's disease.