A plain-language guide to what Crohn’s disease is, the infusion medications used to treat it, and what treatment actually looks like. Written for patients and caregivers in Maryland.
Symptoms vary a great deal from person to person, and they change depending on where the inflammation is and how active it is. The most common include:
Because Crohn’s is an immune-driven condition, it can cause problems well beyond the gut, including joint pain, skin rashes, eye irritation, inflammation of the liver or bile ducts, kidney stones, bone loss, and anemia. In children, Crohn’s can also delay growth and development.
This page is educational, not medical advice. Only your gastroenterologist can diagnose Crohn’s disease or decide which treatment is right for you. If you’re having severe abdominal pain, persistent bleeding, or a high fever, contact your doctor or seek care right away.
Treatment usually works in two stages. Induction brings an active flare under control. Maintenance keeps you in remission afterward. Which medication you’re on, and how often you take it, depends on the stage you’re in.
Milder disease is often managed with oral medications. During an acute flare, a gastroenterologist may use corticosteroids, powerful and fast-acting anti-inflammatory drugs that are sometimes given intravenously as methylprednisolone (Solu-Medrol). Steroids work quickly, but they aren’t meant for long-term use, so doctors generally taper the dose and the duration as soon as the flare settles.
When conventional treatment isn’t enough, the next step is usually a biologic. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation defines biologics simply: “antibodies, created in the laboratory, that target specific proteins that cause inflammation.”
A steroid suppresses inflammation broadly, across your whole body. A biologic is engineered to block one specific messenger in the inflammatory chain, which is how it can control the disease without many of the body-wide effects of long-term steroid use.
The biologics used in Crohn’s fall into three groups, and the group largely determines how the medication is given:
Block tumor necrosis factor, a key inflammatory signal. Given as IV infusions or injections. Infliximab (Remicade & biosimilars), certolizumab (Cimzia)
Stop inflammatory white blood cells from entering gut tissue. Given by IV infusion, sometimes followed by injections. Vedolizumab (Entyvio), natalizumab (Tysabri, Tyruko)
Block interleukin proteins that drive inflammation. Usually IV infusion to start, then injections at home. Ustekinumab (Stelara), risankizumab (Skyrizi), mirikizumab (Omvoh)
Not every Crohn’s medication is an infusion. Certolizumab (Cimzia) is FDA-approved for Crohn’s but is given only as a subcutaneous injection, never by IV. And several biologics that start with IV infusions, including Stelara, Skyrizi, and Omvoh, switch to at-home injections for maintenance.
These are the FDA-approved medications given by IV infusion that Springside administers for this condition. Each links to its medication page, where you’ll find the referral form your specialist needs.
Infusion times are the times specified in each medication’s FDA prescribing information. Your total appointment will be longer, because check-in, vital signs, IV placement, and post-infusion observation all add time.
Anemia is the most common complication of inflammatory bowel disease outside the digestive tract. It affects roughly 16% of IBD patients seen in outpatient settings and about 68% of those admitted to hospital. Iron deficiency is present in around 45% of people with IBD and accounts for more than half of all anemia cases in this group.
If you’ve taken oral iron and your levels barely moved, that’s a well-documented pattern in Crohn’s, and there are four reasons for it:
This is why your gastroenterologist may recommend intravenous iron instead, particularly if your IBD is active, your anemia is moderate to severe, or oral iron hasn’t worked or wasn’t tolerated.
For most adults weighing 50 kg or more, a full iron replacement course is a single 1,000 mg dose, given in one visit rather than a series. The infusion itself runs at least 20 minutes, followed by at least 30 minutes of monitoring, so plan on about an hour at the center.
Your gastroenterologist may order a different IV iron formulation depending on your history and your insurance coverage. We administer several.
If you’ve never had an infusion, or you’ve only had them in a hospital, here’s the shape of a typical visit.
Plan for more than the infusion time. The times listed on this page come from each medication’s FDA label and cover the infusion itself. Check-in, IV placement, and observation are on top of that. When we confirm your appointment, we’ll tell you how long to plan for.
You can change where you receive your infusions without changing your gastroenterologist. Your GI doctor continues to manage your Crohn’s disease and writes the order. We administer the medication and report back to them.
Many Maryland insurance plans now prefer, and some require, that non-urgent infusions be given at an ambulatory infusion center rather than a hospital outpatient department, often at meaningfully lower out-of-pocket cost. Coverage rules and prior-authorization requirements vary by plan, so we verify your benefits and handle the authorization before your first visit.
The questions patients ask us most often about moving their Crohn’s Disease infusion care to Springside.
Most patients can safely switch infusion providers once their medication schedule is stable and their specialist considers treatment well established. Most patients do not switch during loading doses or while medications are still being adjusted. The best time is usually once you reach the maintenance phase and your schedule becomes predictable.
Look at scheduling predictability, appointment length, privacy of the treatment space, whether the center coordinates insurance authorization and records transfer for you, and how directly the center communicates back to your specialist.
Coverage rules and prior-authorization requirements vary by plan. Many Maryland insurance plans now prefer, and some require, that non-urgent infusions be given at an ambulatory infusion center rather than a hospital outpatient department. Springside verifies your benefits and handles prior authorization before your first visit.
Yes. Where you receive your infusion and who prescribes it are separate. Your specialist continues to manage your condition and writes the order; the infusion center administers the medication and reports back to them.
Transitions are typically coordinated between doses so treatment continues without interruption. Springside works with your specialist, your insurance provider, and your clinical records team to schedule the transfer around your existing dosing interval.
Your specialist sends new orders and clinical records to the new infusion center, which then verifies your insurance benefits and obtains prior authorization before scheduling your first appointment.
Most transitions follow this timeline: 2 to 5 business days for insurance verification, 3 to 7 business days for physician orders and clinical records transfer, and 1 to 2 weeks to schedule the first appointment.
Working professionals generally prioritize predictable scheduling, evening and weekend availability, private treatment suites, and short door-to-door time. Independent ambulatory infusion centers are typically built around these factors, unlike large hospital outpatient departments.
