Seung Joo Kang, Young Sin Cho, Tae Hee Lee, Seong-Eun Kim, Han Seung Ryu, Jung-Wook Kim, Seon-Young Park, Yoo Jin Lee, and Jeong Eun Shin; Constipation Research Group of the Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2021;27:495-512. https://doi.org/10.5056/jnm20210

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a relapsing and progressive condition characterized by diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and hematochezia that results in serious complications such as perforations, fistulas, and abscesses. Various medications, interventions, and surgical treatments have been used to treat CD. The Korean guidelines for CD management were distributed in 2012 and revised in 2017 by the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research Group of the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases. Substantial progress in mucosal immunologic research has elucidated the pathophysiology of IBD, leading to development of biological agents for treatment of CD. The first developed biologic agent, tumor necrosis factor-α agents, were shown to be efficacious in CD, heralding a new era in management of CD. Subsequently, vedolizumab, a monoclonal antibody against integrin α4β7, and ustekinumab, a human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the common p40 subunit of interleukin-12 and interleukin-23, were both approved for clinical use and are efficacious and safe for both induction and maintenance of remission in moderate-to-severe CD patients. Moreover, a recent study showed the non-inferiority of CT-P13, an infliximab biosimilar, compared with infliximab in CD patients. The third Korean guidelines for CD management provide updated information regarding treatment of moderate-to-severe CD patients with biologic agents.

Young Sin Cho, Yoo Jin Lee, Jeong Eun Shin, Hye-Kyung Jung, Seon-Young Park, Seung Joo Kang, Kyung Ho Song, Jung-Wook Kim, Hyun Chul Lim, Hee Sun Park, Seong-Jung Kim, Ra Ri Cha, Ki Bae Bang, Chang Seok Bang, Sung Kyun Yim, Seung-Bum Ryoo, Bong Hyeon Kye, Woong Bae Ji, Miyoung Choi, In-Kyung Sung, and Suck Chei Choi,; the Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2023;29:271-305. https://doi.org/10.5056/jnm23066