BACKGROUND & AIMS:Adverse events (AEs) including reactivation of herpes zoster (HZ) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) have been reported from clinical trials of tofacitinib in ulcerative colitis (UC). We investigated the incidence rates of AEs in a real-world study of UC patients given tofacitinib.
METHODS:We collected data from 260 patients with UC in the Tofacitinib Real-world Outcomes in Patients with ulceratIve colitis and Crohn's disease consortium study, performed at 6 medical centers in the United States. Patients were followed up for a median of 6 months (interquartile range, 2.7-11.5 mo). AEs were captured using a standardized data collection instrument before study
Background
Combining biologics and small molecules could potentially overcome the plateau of drug efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the safety and effectiveness of dual biologic therapy (DBT), or small molecule combined with a biologic therapy (SBT) in IBD patients.
Methods
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Clinical trials.gov until Nov 3, 2020, including studies with two or more IBD patients on DBT or SBT. Main outcome was safety assessed as pooled rates of adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs) for each combination. Effectiveness was reported as pooled rates of clinical, endoscopic and/or radiographic response and remission. The certainty of evidence was rated according to the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.
Results
Of the 3,688 publications identified, 13 studies (1 clinical trial, 12 observational studies) involving 266 patients on seven different combinations were included. Median number of prior biologics ranged from 0-4, and median duration of follow-up was 16-68 weeks. Most common DBT and SBT were vedolizumab (VDZ) with anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (aTNF, n=56) or tofacitinib (Tofa, n=57), respectively. Pooled rates of SAE for these were 9.6% (95% CI, 1.5–21.4) for VDZ-aTNF and 1.0% (95% CI, 0.0–7.6) for Tofa-VDZ. The overall certainty of evidence was very low due to the observational nature of the studies, and very serious imprecision and inconsistency.
Conclusions
DBT or SBT appears to be generally safe and may be effective in IBD patients, but the evidence is very uncertain.
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