Therapy

Why?

• Mesalazine increases remission in mild-to-moderate disease ^{a b}
• Newer 5-aminosalicylates are as effective as sulfasalazine but cause fewer adverse effects ^a

5-aminosalycylates increase remission in mild-to-moderate Crohn's disease

Patient	Treatment	Comparison	Outcome	CER	RRR (95% CI)	NNT (95% CI)
mild-to-moderate Crohn's disease b	mesalazine 1 to 4 g daily by mouth	placebo	remission at 16 weeks	36%	62% (4% to 150%)	5 (3 to 21)

5-aminosalycylates increase remission in mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis

Patient	Treatment	Comparison	Outcome	CER	OR (95% CI)	NNT (95% CI)
mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis a	5-ASA	placebo	remission or improvement at 4 weeks	22%	0.48 (0.35 to 0.66)	11 (7 to 22)
	newer 5-ASA	sulfasalazine	withdrawal due to adverse effects at 4 weeks	18%	0.19 (0.07 to 0.54)	7 (6 to 14)