Publications by authors named "J J Gonvers"
Background: There is uncertain evidence of effectiveness of 5-aminosalicylates (5-ASA) to induce and maintain response and remission of active Crohn's disease (CD), and weak evidence to support their use in post-operative CD.
Aim: To assess the frequency and determinants of 5-ASA use in CD patients and to evaluate the physicians' perception of clinical response and side effects to 5-ASA.
Methods: Data from the Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort, which collects data since 2006 on a large sample of IBD patients, were analysed.
Background: Anti-TNFα agents are commonly used for ulcerative colitis (UC) therapy in the event of non-response to conventional strategies or as colon-salvaging therapy. The objectives were to assess the appropriateness of biological therapies for UC patients and to study treatment discontinuation over time, according to appropriateness of treatment, as a measure of outcome.
Methods: We selected adult ulcerative colitis patients from the Swiss IBD cohort who had been treated with anti-TNFα agents.
Background: Safety and economic issues have increasingly raised concerns about the long term use of immunomodulators or biologics as maintenance therapies for Crohn's disease (CD). Despite emerging evidence suggesting that stopping therapy might be an option for low risk patients, criteria identifying target groups for this strategy are missing, and there is a lack of recommendations regarding this question.
Methods: Multidisciplinary European expert panel (EPACT-II Update) rated the appropriateness of stopping therapy in CD patients in remission.
Introduction: High-grade evidence is lacking for most therapeutic decisions in Crohn's disease. Appropriateness criteria were developed for upper gastro-intestinal, extra-intestinal manifestations and drug safety during conception, pregnancy and breastfeeding in patients with Crohn's disease, to assist the physician in clinical decision making.
Methods: The European Panel on the Appropriateness of Crohn's Disease Therapy (EPACT II), a multidisciplinary international European expert panel, rated clinical scenarios based on evidence from the published literature and panelists' own clinical expertise.
Introduction: Many therapeutic decisions in the management of fistulizing and fibrostenotic Crohn's disease (CD) have to be taken without the benefit of strong scientific evidence. For this reason, explicit appropriateness criteria for CD fistula and stenosis treatment were developed by a multidisciplinary European expert panel in 2004 with the aim of making them easily available on the Internet and thus allowing individual case scenario evaluation; these criteria were updated in 2007.
Methods: Twelve international experts convened in Geneva, Switzerland in December 2007.