Management of Crohn’s stricture: medical, endoscopic and surgical therapies

Abstract

Patients with Crohn’s disease are at high risk of presenting with or developing a bowel stricture during the course of their disease. The available therapeutic options to manage a symptomatic Crohn’s stricture include medical therapy (mainly biologics), surgical resection and endoscopic interventions. The choice of therapeutic modality depends on the clinical presentation of the stricture, the nature of the stricture (inflammatory vs fibrotic, primary vs anastomotic) and its anatomical characteristics on endoscopy and imaging (length, number, location of strictures and severity of obstruction). The aim herein is to provide an overview of the comprehensive assessment of a Crohn’s stricture and to review the indications of the different therapeutic modalities, their success rates and their limitations to help clinicians properly evaluate and manage Crohn’s strictures.