The Effect of Infliximab on Patients with Ulcerative Colitis in Korea.
- Author:
Hyun Il SEO
1
;
Dong Il PARK
;
Tae Oh KIM
;
You Sun KIM
;
Suck Ho LEE
;
Ji Won KIM
;
Jae Hak KIM
;
Jeong Eun SHIN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Ulcerative colitis; Infliximab; Efficacy; Safety
- MeSH: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Colitis, Ulcerative*; Fever of Unknown Origin; Humans; Infliximab; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Korea; Pneumonia; Rhabdomyolysis; Salicylates; Salicylic Acid; Tertiary Care Centers
- From:Intestinal Research 2014;12(3):214-220
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Infliximab was introduced recently as a rescue therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC) patients refractory to conventional treatments such as therapy with 5-amiono salicylic acids (5-ASA), immune modulators, and corticosteroids. However, there is insufficient data about its efficacy and safety in Korea. METHODS: From 7 tertiary referral hospitals, 33 patients who were treated with infliximab for moderate to severe (Mayo score 6-12) UC refractory to conventional treatment were recruited to this study. Clinical remission was defined as a total Mayo score of 2 or lower and every subscore less than 2. Partial response was defined as a decrease of Mayo score at least 3 points from baseline. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients (69.7%) showed clinical remission and 29 patients (87.8%) showed partial response in the observation period. When the remission and non-remission groups were compared in univariate analysis, only a higher total Mayo score at base line (11.0+/-0.9 vs. 9.9+/-1.5; P=0.04) was related to remission. The remission maintenance rate decreased with time in the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Two patients experienced re-remission after the first remission followed by aggravation during infliximab treatment. Three patients stopped infliximab treatment owing to adverse events including rhabdomyolysis, pneumonia, and fever of unknown origin. CONCLUSIONS: If there is no choice except surgery for UC patients refractory to conventional treatment, infliximab is an effective and relatively safe treatment option for these patients in Korea.
