Clinical Outcome of Treatment with Infliximab in Crohn’s Disease: A Single-Center Experience

Background/Aims: Our aim was to assess the long-term data regarding efficacy and safety of infliximab (IFX) treatment for refractory Crohn’s disease (CD) patients in our tertiary teaching hospital. Methods: We have retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 89 CD patients who underwent IFX treatment between March 2003 and February 2011 at Kyung Hee University Hospital (Seoul, Korea). The primary outcome measurements were the rates of initial clinical response (CR) at 10 weeks after the 1st IFX infusion and sustained CR at the end of the follow-up. Overall adverse events related to IFX treatment were also evaluated. Results: The mean (SD) follow-up period of eligible 80 patients was 33.7 (21.9) months. A total of 77 patients (96%) showed initial clinical response, but 8 patients showed loss of response to IFX during the follow-up. Finally, 59 patients (59/77, 76.6%) showed sustained CR at the end of the study. Logistic regression analyses showed that an initial CR at 10 weeks was the independent predictor associated with sustained CR (OR 22.286, 95 % CI 2.742-132.717, p=0.001). Overall adverse events reported in 18 patients (18/80, 23.3%), including 3 serious infection (pulmonary tuberculosis and herpes zoster). Conclusions: Treatment with IFX was efficacious and relatively safe for refractory CD patients in Korea. An initial CR at 10 weeks was significantly associated with sustained CR. (Korean J Gastroenterol 2013;61:270-278