Medical management of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a serious ailment that afflicts nearly one million people in the U.S. alone. The medical management of this disorder currently includes salicylates, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive therapy, and symptomatic treatment with antidiarrheal agents, although several promising new drugs have been developed. The epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, and medical management of the disease are discussed in this article.