Sign in Subscribe
Gastrointestinal diseases

Treatment-Free Outcomes Following Surgery for IBD: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine have conducted a nationwide cohort study to identify individuals who remain treatment-free after initial surgery for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study, published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, found that 21.5% of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 42.4% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) remained treatment-free after 5 years of surgery. The study highlights the potential for precision surgery to identify those most likely to achieve long-term benefit from surgical intervention.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included 1709 individuals with CD and 1010 with UC who underwent surgery between 2007 and 2018.
  • At 5 years, 21.5% of patients with CD and 42.4% of patients with UC remained treatment-free after surgery.
  • Being treatment-free 5 years after surgery was more common among patients with CD who had longer preoperative disease duration and older adults with UC.
  • It was less common among individuals with extraintestinal manifestations of disease (CD aOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.43-0.97; UC aOR 0.48, 95% CI 0.31-0.73) and patients with CD who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  • Absence of extraintestinal manifestations, older age in UC, and longer disease duration and absence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in CD may highlight an opportunity for precision surgery to identify those most likely to achieve long-term benefit from surgical intervention.
  • The study suggests that surgery may obviate the need for future therapy in 22% of patients with CD and 42% with UC.

Statistics:

  • 1709 individuals with CD and 1010 individuals with UC were included in the study.
  • At 5 years after surgery, 21.5% of patients with CD and 42.4% of patients with UC remained treatment-free.
  • 21.5% of patients with CD and 42.4% of patients with UC remained treatment-free after surgery.
  • 22% of patients with CD and 42% with UC may benefit from surgery to achieve long-term benefit from surgical intervention.

Sources:

  • Treatment-Free Outcomes Following Surgery for IBD: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2025.
  • Researchers at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine. Investigators at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine Have Reported New Data on Crohn's Disease (Treatment-Free Outcomes Following Surgery for IBD: A Nationwide Cohort Study). Respiratory Therapeutics Week. November 3, 2025; p 489.

Read more