Journal of Internal Medicine Concepts & Practice >

2025 , Vol. 20 >Issue 02: 101 - 106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16138/j.1673-6087.2025.02.01

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Medicine de-escalation strategies in inflammatory bowel disease for remission maintenance

  • GU Yubei ,
  • HONG Yu
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  • 1. Department of Gastroenterology, Ruijin Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
    2. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China

Received date: 2025-02-05

  Online published: 2025-07-08

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Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD), requires long-term medication to maintain remission. Developing a medicine de-escalation strategies during remission is crucial for reducing side effects and alleviating economic burdens, but the risks and benefits of medicine discontinuation remain controversial. The dose of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) can be reduced in partial UC patients during remission, but the risk of relapse increases after medicine discontinuation. Long-term use of immunomodulators such as azathioprine has safety issues, but safe discontinuation of the medicine can be achieved through a medicine monitoring systems. The relapse rate after discontinuation of biologics agents during remission is high, especially in patients who have not achieved deep remission. The medicine de-escalation strategy for patient receiving combination therapy requires comprehensive assessment. Relapse monitoring after medicine discontinuation is critical, endoscopy and biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and fecal calprotectin (FCP) can be used as effective predictive tools. This review summarizes recent studies on medicine de-escalation in IBD remission to provide reference for clinical practice and promote shared decision-making between patients and physicians.

Key words： Inflammatory bowel disease; Medicine de-escalation; Remission period; Recurrence monitoring

Cite this article

GU Yubei , HONG Yu . Medicine de-escalation strategies in inflammatory bowel disease for remission maintenance[J]. Journal of Internal Medicine Concepts & Practice, 2025 , 20(02) : 101 -106 . DOI: 10.16138/j.1673-6087.2025.02.01

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