Is steroid dependent Crohn's disease a separate entity?
Chochon, M.; Gaudebout, C.; Chagnon, J.P.; Hay, J.M.; Cerf, M.
Materia Medica Polona. Polish Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy 24(3): 177-180
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-5246 PMID: 1307649 Document Number: 394852
Crohn's disease has been sometimes considered as a syndrome including different entities. In this prospect we tried to assess whether steroid dependent Crohn's disease could be a separate sub-group. Eighty five patients (mean follow-up: 6 years) with documented Crohn's disease were classified into 3 groups: 1--patients never treated with steroids (NS) (N = 37); 2--patients in whom steroids had been given but had been withdrawn (NSD) (N = 37); 3--patients dependent on continuous steroid therapy (SD) (N = 11). Ten variables were considered: age at onset, sex, CDAI, cumulative topography of lesions, extra-intestinal symptoms, albuminemia, ESR, surgical operations, annual frequency of relapses. Monofactorial analysis (analysis of variance and CHI2 test) showed group SD to be significantly different from group NS and in term of age at onset, CDAI, ESR, annual frequency of relapses, extra-intestinal symptoms, surgical operations. In contrast, a multivariate analysis of correspondences applied to the 3 groups and to 9 dichotomous variables showed that group SD is not a separate entity, but the limit of a continuum extending from group NS to group NSD. This was ascertained by a CHI2 test applied to the dichotomous variables. Thus, within the limits of this study Crohn's disease appears to be a homogeneous entity rather than a heterogeneous syndrome.