Management of inflammatory bowel disease: an effective and concise approach.

Experience in treating 100 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, for periods ranging from one to 15 years, is reviewed. A concise clinical classification of inflammatory bowel disease, correlated with a method of management, is presented. Relative rates of operation appear to be reduced over previously reported series: among chronic ulcerative colitis patients, 11 per cent had major precedures; for Crohn's disease, 36 per cent.