Real-World Experience With Proactive Therapeutic Drug Monitoring During Infliximab Reintroduction

Anaphylaxis to a Vedolizumab Infusion following Drug Holiday in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis: A Case Report

Introduction

Vedolizumab is a commonly prescribed biologic agent due to its safety profile and clinical efficacy. Severe infusion-related reactions are exceedingly rare, with no previously documented cases of anaphylaxis to vedolizumab infusion following a drug holiday.

Case Presentation

We report the case of a 65-year-old male with ulcerative colitis who had a severe anaphylactic reaction to the first re-induction infusion of vedolizumab following a 30-month drug holiday. No pre-infusion prophylactic medication was administered. Upon commencement of the infusion, the patient developed anaphylactic symptoms including airway compromise that required intensive care unit admission and treatment with an adrenaline infusion.

Conclusion

Anaphylactic reactions to vedolizumab after a drug holiday can occur. As is done for infliximab, we recommend administration of an antipyretic, antihistamine, and corticosteroid prior to vedolizumab re-induction infusions when it is given after a drug holiday.

Risk factors affecting relapse after discontinuation of biologics in children with Crohn's disease who maintained deep remission

Objectives

Biologics are important therapeutic agents for pediatric Crohn's disease. Discontinuation of biologics is known to increase the relapse rate up to 71.4% in these patients; however, their long-term use increases the risk of opportunistic infections and causes economic burden and psychological fatigue. Therefore, taking a drug holiday is meaningful, even if the biologics cannot be completely discontinued. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors affecting relapse after discontinuation of biologics in children with Crohn's disease.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the data of 435 children with Crohn's disease who visited a single health center between March 2013 and March 2021. Subsequently, we analyzed data from the patients who discontinued biologics after deep remission.

Results

Among the enrolled patients, 388 were followed up for ≥2 years, and of these, 357 were administered biologics. A total of 103 patients discontinued biologics after deep remission, subsequently 31 maintained remission and 72 relapsed. The shorter the duration of biologic treatment (odds ratio of 0.444, P = 0.029), the higher the ESR (odds ratio of 1.294, P = 0.009) and fecal calprotectin (odds ratio of 1.010, P = 0.032), and the less histological remission at the time of discontinuation of biologics (odds ratio of 0.119, P = 0.026), the greater the risk of relapse after discontinuation of biologics.

Conclusions

We identified factors associated with relapse after discontinuation of biologics. The results suggest that biologics can be discontinued in the absence of these factors after deep remission. However, because the relapse rate may increase after the discontinuation of biologics, close monitoring is important, and if necessary, re-administration of biologics should be actively considered.

Is therapeutic drug monitoring a dancing partner for TNF-α inhibitors in real-world practice? Answers from an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

This systematic review aimed to determine the effect of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNF-αI) in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) based on real-world evidence, as results from published meta-analyses based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) may not fully capture the nuances of clinical practice due to strict criteria.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to 1 August 2023. Cohort studies comparing TDM (proactive and reactive) with empirical management were included. Primary outcome was effectiveness [for IBDs: clinical remission; for rheumatic diseases: clinical remission or low disease activity], with certainty of evidence appraised using the GRADE approach. Secondary outcomes included treatment failure, serious adverse events (SAEs), IMIDs-related surgeries or hospitalizations, and anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) development risk.

RESULTS

Twenty-four cohort studies were included and almost all were on infliximab. For IBDs, compared with empirical management, proactive TDM significantly improved clinical remission (RR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.04-1.28), reduced IBDs-related surgeries (RR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.26-0.81), hospitalizations (RR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.43-0.83), SAEs (RR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.07-0.76), and ADAs development risk (RR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.19-0.60). Reactive TDM significantly lowered hospitalization rates and might be cost-effective. Proactive TDM outperformed reactive TDM in secondary outcomes. For rheumatic diseases, benefits of TDM were inconclusive due to limited evidence.

CONCLUSIONS

Real-world evidence supports proactive TDM of TNF-αI (particularly infliximab) in IBDs to improve effectiveness, safety, and immunogenicity. However, benefits of TDM for different TNF-αI in other IMIDs remain uncertain.

PROTOCOL REGISTRATION

www.crd.york.ac.uk/ PROSPERO identifier is CRD42022370846.