OBJECTIVES: Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease which may affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. CD has been associated with significant costs across a patient’s lifespan. This review aims to assess the medical costs associated with Crohn’s disease in the United States.

METHODS: Studies published in English from January 2014 through January 2019, that described the cost of CD in United States, were identified using three major databases (Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane Library). Medical costs were examined.

RESULTS: Sixteen of the identified publications included in this review reported medical costs greater than 4000$ per patient with CD per year in the United States. Inpatient, outpatient, emergency visits and hospitalization costs were above 800$, 1000$, 50$ and 3000$ respectively. More than 800$ was charged as pharmacy cost. Around 10,000$ was observed as the minimum annual expenditure (inpatient, outpatient, emergency room visit, hospitalization, medical, pharmacy services and office-based costs) for CD. A large portion of the medical costs was attributable to drug/pharmacotherapy (biologics). However, these findings were limited by heterogeneity of the populations studied and a lack of evidence for non-medical costs like travel and telephone.

CONCLUSIONS: This targeted literature review demonstrated the cost burden of CD. The significant spend on the management of CD probably has fiscal impact on the healthcare system. Implementing cost-effective therapies instead of conventional therapies may help reduce the overall expenditure on CD.