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Evidence summaries

Infliximab for Maintenance of Medically Induced Remission in Crohn's Disease

Infliximab is effective in preventing clinical relapses compared to placebo in Crohn's disease. Level of evidence: "A"

A systematic review [Abstract] 1 included 9 randomized controlled trials with 1257 participants (age 18 to 69 years) to determine the efficacy and safety of infliximab for maintaining remission in patients with Crohn's disease. Infliximab prevented clinical relapse compared to placebo (56% vs 75%, RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.84; 2 studies, n=408, NNTB=5). Infliximab combined with purine analogues was superior to purine analogues alone for preventing clinical relapse (12% vs 59%, RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.42; 1 study, n=115, NNTB=2).

There was no difference of withdrawal due to adverse events (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.37 to 1.19; 2 studies, n=355) or serious adverse events (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.00; 1 study, n=282) in patients with infliximab compared to placebo.

    References

    • Gordon M, Sinopoulou V, Akobeng AK, et al. Infliximab for maintenance of medically-induced remission in Crohn's disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2024;2(2):CD012609 [Abstract]

Primary/Secondary Keywords