INTRODUCTION: Fistulas are a debilitating complication of Crohn's disease and treatment options remain limited. There is a lack of head-to-head comparisons between treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first network meta-analysis on the efficacy of medical therapies in achieving fistula remission and maintenance of fistula closure in Crohn's disease.
METHODS: Biomedical databases and the Cochrane Central Registry were searched between 1978 and 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on treatments. A network meta-analysis was performed using the frequentist model with pooled relative risks (RRs) and P-scores used to rank treatments.
RESULTS: Twenty-five RCTs were included for analysis with 2239 patients included. At the 16-24 week time point, infliximab produced the only statistically significant result with the 5 mg/kg dose proving the most effective [RR, 2.30; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.40-3.77]. At 44 weeks, ustekinumab was found to be most superior with it being 2.38 times (RR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.24-4.56) more superior to placebo, with adalimumab (RR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.06-3.99) and infliximab 5 mg/kg (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.03-2.75) also producing a statistically significant result.
CONCLUSION: Despite infliximab being favoured in international guidelines for the treatment of perianal fistulising Crohn's disease, biologics such as ustekinumab, vedolizumab and adalimumab show promising results.
BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is a disease with an impaired immune response characterized by chronic, relapsing-remitting, and progressive inflammation mainly affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Certolizumab pegol (CZP) is a biological agent that regulates the impaired immune response by controlling tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα). However, the efficacy and safety of long-term administration of CZP for people with CD with inflammation under control are not well understood.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and safety of CZP for maintenance of remission in people with CD.
SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP, and conference abstracts from inception to 23 March 2022. We contacted pharmaceutical companies involved with the production of CZP for further relevant information.
SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CZP with placebo in adults with CD.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently selected studies and extracted data. The main outcomes were failure to maintain clinical remission at week 26, failure to maintain clinical response at week 26, and serious adverse events. We planned to perform meta-analyses including all available studies if similar enough for pooling to be appropriate and calculated risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences with 95% CIs for continuous outcomes. We analyzed the number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) and the number needed to treat for an additional harmful outcome (NNTH) to indicate the magnitude of treatment effects. The same two review authors independently evaluated the risk of bias by using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool and evaluated the certainty of evidence using the GRADE framework.
MAIN RESULTS: We identified one study meeting our prespecified eligibility criteria. The included study enrolled 428 adults with CD who responded to induction therapy with CZP 400 mg at weeks 0, 2, and 4. The study evaluated long-term efficacy and safety of CZP administered subcutaneously every four weeks compared with placebo. The proportion of participants who failed to maintain clinical remission at week 26 was 52.3% (113/216) in the CZP group compared to 71.7% (152/212) in the placebo group. Treatment of CZP probably results in a large reduction in failure to maintain clinical remission at week 26 (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.85). The NNTB was 5 (95% CI 4 to 9). We judged this outcome at low risk of bias. Using the GRADE assessment, we judged the certainty of evidence as moderate due to the low number of events occurred. The proportion of participants who failed to maintain clinical response at week 26 was 37.5% (81/216) in the CZP group compared to 64.2% (136/212) in the placebo group. Treatment of CZP probably results in a large reduction in failure to maintain clinical response at week 26 (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.71). The NNTB was 4 (95% CI 3 to 5). We judged this outcome at low risk of bias. Using the GRADE assessment, we judged the certainty of evidence as moderate due to the low number of events occurred. The proportion of participants who developed serious adverse events was 5.6% (12/216) in the CZP group compared to 6.6% (14/212) in the placebo group. Treatment of CZP may lead to no difference in serious adverse events compared to placebo when used as a remission maintenance treatment (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.78). The NNTB was 95 (95% CI NNTH 19 to NNTB 25). We evaluated the risk of bias for this outcome as low. We evaluated the certainty of evidence as low due to the low number of events occurred and the CIs were not sufficiently narrow.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: CZP probably results in a large reduction in failure to maintain clinical remission and response at week 26 in people with CD. The evidence suggests that CZP may lead to no difference in serious adverse events compared to placebo when used as a remission maintenance treatment. However, the current studies are limited to 26 weeks of follow-up and only included adults. Therefore, these conclusions cannot be used to guide longer term treatment or for treatment in children at present.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Fistulas are debilitating complications of Crohn's disease (CD) that affect up to 50% of patients. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to assess the efficacy of treatments for fistulizing CD.
METHODS: We searched publication databases from inception through December 13, 2016 for trials comparing the efficacy of a therapeutic agent (single or combination) with placebo or another active therapy in adult patients with any form of fistulizing CD. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of trials; the overall quality of evidence was evaluated using GRADE. Primary outcomes included induction and maintenance of fistula response and remission. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs were calculated for each outcome.
RESULTS: We analyzed data from 27 trials; most studies (21/27) focused on patients with perianal fistulizing CD. We found moderate-quality evidence to support the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists (RR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.36-2.97), particularly infliximab, ustekinumab (RR, 1.77; 95% CI, 0.93-3.37), and mesenchymal stem cell therapy (RR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.98-1.73) for induction of fistula remission. We found low-quality evidence for the efficacy of vedolizumab and immunosuppressives. There was also low-quality evidence to support the efficacy of combination therapy with TNF antagonists and antibiotics vs a TNF antagonist alone.
CONCLUSION: In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 controlled trials, we found TNF antagonists to be effective for induction and maintenance of perianal fistula response and remission. There are few data on the effects on internal fistulae. Further studies are needed, particularly for ustekinumab, vedolizumab, and stem cell therapies, in patients with fistulizing CD.
Medical treatment for fistulizing Crohn's disease (FCD) is changing rapidly over the time by the introduction of novel therapeutic medicines, while no global consensus is available. This study aims to accomplish a systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibodies (anti-TNF-α antibodies) versus placebo in FCD. A systematic review of published literature was carried out till December 2016, and a meta-analysis of identified studies was done. Data have been explored from PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library Database, and Web of Science. Predefined exclusion criteria for included studies in meta-analysis are based on search methodology and are as follows: Randomized clinical trial about Crohn's disease (CD) patients without fistula, pediatrics CD, randomized clinical trials about pregnant women with FCD, nonhuman studies, randomized clinical trials with surgical therapies interventions, conference abstracts, case reports, and language other than English studies. All randomized placebo-controlled trials were included. To assess risk of bias, Jadad score was applied to evaluate trials' methodological quality. Relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals were computed using Mantel-Haenszel and/or Rothman-Boice (for fixed effects) or Der Simonian-Laird (for random effects) techniques. Nine studies attained defined inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis results showed that anti-TNF-α antibodies are remarkably more effective in comparison to placebo for fistula closure maintenance (RR = 2.36; 95% confidence interval: 1.58-3.55; P < 0.0001) in patients with FCD, whereas anti-TNF-α antibodies were not superior to placebo neither in fistula improvement nor in fistula closure. We concluded that adalimumab and certolizumab pegol are both effective in fistula closure maintenance in adult patients with FCD.
Background: Over the last decade, biologics have gained an important place for the treatment of moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and many randomized control trials have evaluated their efficacy. Aim: The goal of this review is to analyze the results of these trials and to highlight the evidence and indications emerging from these studies for their implementation in the management of IBD patients. Methods: A PubMed search was realized to screen high-quality clinical trials studying biologic agents currently available in clinics for the treatment of IBD. Words used were: “infliximab,” “adalimumab,” “certolizumab,” “golimumab,” “natalizumab,” “vedolizumab,” “ustekinumab,” “azathioprine,” “methotrexate,” “Crohn's disease,” and “ulcerative colitis.” Results: In Crohn's disease, studies supporting induction and maintenance therapies were documented for infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab, natalizumab, vedolizumab, and ustekinumab. Infliximab, adalimumab, and certolizumab have evidences for fistulizing Crohn's disease and only infliximab and adalimumab have evidences for mucosal healing. In ulcerative colitis, studies supporting induction, maintenance, and mucosal healing were found with infliximab, adalimumab, golimumab, and vedolizumab. Only infliximab was associated with evidences for combination therapy with thiopurine and acute severe colitis in ulcerative colitis. Conclusion: Management with biologics in IBD patients is well validated by high-quality clinical trials.
INTRODUCCIÓN: Este meta-análisis compara la eficacia y la seguridad de factor de necrosis tumoral α anticuerpos (TNF-α) (infliximab, adalimumab y certolizumab) con un placebo o cada uno de ellos en el tratamiento de la enfermedad de Crohn (EC).
MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Una revisión sistemática de la literatura publicada hasta noviembre 2012 se llevó a cabo y un meta-análisis de los estudios identificados se llevó a cabo. Se hicieron búsquedas en las siguientes bases de datos: PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library y otros. Sólo aleatorios o Se incluyeron los ensayos clínicos controlados.
RESULTADOS: Diecinueve ensayos clínicos cumplieron con los criterios establecidos (5 estudios para infliximab frente a placebo, 6 de cada adalimumab o certolizumab frente a placebo y 2 que compararon infliximab con adalimumab). Los resultados del meta-análisis mostró que la terapia anti-TNF en pacientes con EC es segura y estadística y significativamente más eficaz en comparación con el placebo para inducir la remisión en la semana 4 (LD = 1,90, IC del 95%: 1,55 a 2,33, p < 0,00001), mantenimiento de la remisión en las semanas 20-30 (RB = 1,86, IC del 95%: 1,61 a 2,15, p <0,00001) y en las semanas 48-56 (RB = 2,75, IC del 95%: 2,13 a 3,54, p <0.00001 ) en los pacientes que respondieron al tratamiento de inducción y los pacientes asignados al azar antes de la inducción. Los agentes anti-TNF también fueron superiores al placebo en la curación de la fístula (durante la inducción a corto plazo, así como el mantenimiento a largo plazo) y la inducción de CR-70, pero no CR-100 en la semana 4. Por otra parte, la terapia anti-TNF tuvo un efecto significativo en el logro de ambos CR-70 y CR-100 durante el mantenimiento a largo plazo.
Conclusiones: infliximab, adalimumab y certolizumab son eficaces como la inducción y la terapia de mantenimiento de moderada a severa enfermedad de Crohn en adultos, incluidos pacientes con fístulas. El perfil de seguridad aceptable.
ANTECEDENTES: Los agentes biológicos se han usado ampliamente en el tratamiento de la enfermedad de Crohn (EC). Estos fármacos conllevan el riesgo de inmunosupresión excesiva, lo que indica posibles infecciones oportunistas, incluyendo infecciones virales oportunistas, pero no metanálisis se ha centrado siempre en este tema.
OBJETIVO: Evaluar si existe una asociación entre el tratamiento con agentes biológicos y el riesgo de infecciones virales oportunistas e infecciones graves en pacientes con EC.
MÉTODOS: Una búsqueda de bases de datos en línea se llevó a cabo y la selección de la literatura se llevó a cabo de acuerdo con los criterios de inclusión y exclusión de los títulos de lectura, resúmenes y textos completos. Se evaluó la heterogeneidad de estudio y el sesgo de publicación. Si se debe elegir un modelo de efectos fijos o un modelo de efectos aleatorios dependido en el resultado de la prueba de heterogeneidad.
RESULTADOS: Se observó una significación estadística en los eventos de infección viral oportunista entre el grupo de agentes biológicos y el grupo placebo. Sin embargo, nuestro análisis no observó diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los dos grupos, cuando se llevaron a cabo análisis combinados para el herpes zoster y el herpes simplex por separado. Se observó una tendencia de riesgo en el grupo de agentes biológicos en el análisis para el herpes zoster. Más análisis destinados a las medidas de resultado e incluyendo la influenza y las infecciones graves se llevaron a cabo por separado, pero sin significación estadística se encuentran en ellos.
CONCLUSIÓN: El uso Agentes biológicos podría aumentar el riesgo de infecciones virales oportunistas en pacientes con EC, pero no el riesgo de herpes simplex y graves infecciones. Se necesitan más ensayos controlados aleatorios (ECA) para llegar a la conclusión de que podrían elevar el riesgo de herpes zoster.
Fistulas are a debilitating complication of Crohn's disease and treatment options remain limited. There is a lack of head-to-head comparisons between treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first network meta-analysis on the efficacy of medical therapies in achieving fistula remission and maintenance of fistula closure in Crohn's disease.
METHODS:
Biomedical databases and the Cochrane Central Registry were searched between 1978 and 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on treatments. A network meta-analysis was performed using the frequentist model with pooled relative risks (RRs) and P-scores used to rank treatments.
RESULTS:
Twenty-five RCTs were included for analysis with 2239 patients included. At the 16-24 week time point, infliximab produced the only statistically significant result with the 5 mg/kg dose proving the most effective [RR, 2.30; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.40-3.77]. At 44 weeks, ustekinumab was found to be most superior with it being 2.38 times (RR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.24-4.56) more superior to placebo, with adalimumab (RR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.06-3.99) and infliximab 5 mg/kg (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.03-2.75) also producing a statistically significant result.
CONCLUSION:
Despite infliximab being favoured in international guidelines for the treatment of perianal fistulising Crohn's disease, biologics such as ustekinumab, vedolizumab and adalimumab show promising results.
Pregunta de la revisión sistemática»Revisión sistemática de impacto diagnóstico
