Risk of infection in elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease under biologics: A prospective, multicenter, observational, one-year follow-up comparative study.

OBJECTIVES: The emergence of biologics has improved the course of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in the elderly population despite a potential higher risk of infections. We conducted a one-year, prospective, multicenter, observational study to determine the frequency of occurrence of at least one infectious event in elderly IBD patients under anti-TNF therapy compared with that in elderly patients under vedolizumab or ustekinumab therapies. METHODS: All IBD patients over 65 years exposed to anti-TNF, vedolizumab or ustekinumab therapies were included. The primary endpoint was the prevalence of at least one infection during the whole one year follow-up. RESULTS: Among the 207 consecutive elderly IBD patients prospectively enrolled, 113 were treated with anti-TNF and 94 with vedolizumab (n=63) or ustekinumab (n=31) (median age 71 years, 112 Crohn's disease). The Charlson index was similar between patients under anti-TNF and those under vedolizumab or ustekinumab as well as the proportion of patients under combination therapy and under concomitant steroid therapy did not differ between both both groups. The prevalence of infections was similar in patients under anti-TNF and in those under vedolizumab or ustekinumab (29% versus 28%, respectively; p=0.81). There was no difference in terms of type and severity of infection and of infection-related hospitalization rate. In multivariate regression analysis, only the Charlson comorbidity index (≥ 1) was identified as a significant and independent risk factor of infection (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Around 30 % of elderly patients with IBD under biologics experienced at least one infection during the one-year study follow-up period. The risk of occurrence of infection does not differ between anti-TNF and vedolizumab or ustekinumab therapies, and only the associated comorbidity was linked with the risk of infection.

Effectiveness and safety of anti-TNF therapy for inflammatory bowel disease in liver transplant recipients for primary sclerosing cholangitis: A nationwide case series.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of consensus regarding the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) after liver transplantation (LT) forprimary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). AIM: To investigate the safety and effectiveness of anti-TNF therapy in patients with IBD after a LT for PSC. METHODS: We reviewed the medical files of all of the IBD patients who underwent a LT for PSC and who were treated with anti-TNF therapy at 23 French liver transplantation centers between 1989 and 2012. RESULTS: Eighteen patients (12 with ulcerative colitis and 6 who had Crohn's disease) were recruited at 9 LT centers. All of these patients received infliximab or adalimumab following their LT, and the median duration of their anti-TNF treatment was 10.4 months. The most frequent concomitant immunosuppressive treatment comprised a combination of tacrolimus and corticosteroids. Following anti-TNF therapy induction, a clinical response was seen in 16/18 patients (89%) and clinical remission in 10 (56%). At the end of the anti-TNF treatment or at the last follow-up examination (the median follow-up was 20.9 months), a clinical response was achieved in 12 patients (67%) and clinical remission in 7 (39%). A significant endoscopic improvement was observed in 9 out of 14 patients and a complete mucosal healing in 3 out of 14 patients (21%). Six patients experienced a severe infection. These were due to cholangitis, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, Clostridium difficile, cryptosporidiosis, or Enterococcus faecalis. Three patients developed colorectal cancer after LT, and two patients died during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-TNF therapy proved to be effective for treating IBD after LT for PSC. However, as 17% of the patients developed colorectal cancer during the follow-up, colonoscopic annual surveillance is recommended after LT, as specified in the current guidelines.

Stricturing Crohn's disease-like colitis in a patient treated with belatacept.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) modifying agents have been involved in the development of intestinal inflammation, especially therapeutic monoclonal antibodies directed against CTLA-4. Here we report the appearance of a severe stricturing Crohn's disease-like colitis in a patient with a kidney allograft who was treated with belatacept, a recombinant CTLA-4-Ig fusion protein.