ABSTRACT
Persons afflicted with Crohn's disease are beset by the likelihood of recurrence following resection of their disease. In an effort to better counsel patients about their relative risk, many centers have evaluated myriad factors thought to herald recurrence. Insightful review of the literature requires consideration of the definition of recurrence, length and manner of follow-up, and statistical tools used for analysis of the data. Factors that may possibly influence recurrence include age of disease onset, gender, tobacco use, anatomic pattern of disease, clinical pattern of disease, duration of preoperative symptoms, previous resections, blood transfusion, extent of resection, pathological features of resected bowel, and chemotherapy following resection. Unfortunately, the individual or collective role that these factors play in disease recurrence remains poorly understood.
KEYWORD
Crohn's disease - recurrence - cumulative rate - multivariate analysis - resection - strictureplasty
