Crohn's disease during pregnancy

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often affects women during their childbearing years. Indications for surgery, in pregnant patients, are the same as for no pregnant women and include perforation, obstruction, haemorrhage, fistula and abscess. The controlling of the activity of the disease is the main determinant of the good prognosis of pregnancy. Case report: a woman with abdominal pains required surgical treatment during pregnancy. She underwent two consecutive laparotomies. Histological diagnosis was: Crohn Disease (CD). After surgery the patient was treated with antibiotic and anti-fungal therapy because of a Candida albicans infection. After 5 months it was performed an ileostomy closure with bowel recanalization. The later postoperative course was free of complications and, after surgical care, infliximab was introduced again. Discussion: CD doesn’t seem to have effects on fertility when it is inactive, whereas if it’s active seems to reduce fertility. The treatment with target therapy (infliximab), had a positive outcome. Generally, medical treatment for active disease in pregnant patients is the same as for non-pregnant women, except for antiblastic drugs as methotrexate. CD occurring during pregnancy is a pathology that needs a multidisciplinary approach, but thanks to the new drugs it’s possible a good control of the pathology during the gestation.