Budesonide for Maintenance of Remission in Crohn's Disease

The review concluded that budesonide was not effective for maintaining remission in Crohn's disease beyond three months after induction. While budesonide showed minor benefits in reducing CDAI scores and extending the time to relapse, these were outweighed by higher rates of treatment-related adverse events and more frequent adrenocorticoid suppression. The analysis included 12 studies with 1,273 patients, and the overall quality of evidence was generally low to moderate due to heterogeneity and sparse data. Common adverse effects included acne, moon facies, hirsutism, mood swings, insomnia, weight gain, striae, and hair loss.