Infliximab for hospitalized patients with severe ulcerative colitis

To evaluate the efficacy of infliximab in hospitalized ulcerative colitis (UC) patients refractory to intravenous corticosteroids. Treatment options for steroid-refractory UC patients are limited and include cyclosporine and colectomy. Although two recent studies (ACT I/II) demonstrate a benefit from infliximab in outpatients with moderate to severely active UC, the utility of infliximab in severe i.v. steroid-refractory UC is less clear. We report our open-label experience with infliximab in hospitalized UC patients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. All hospitalized UC patients who had received infliximab were identified. Age, sex, extent of UC, duration of disease, concomitant medication, hospital course, and response to infliximab were recorded. Response to infliximab was defined as avoidance of colectomy and cessation of corticosteroids. There were 12 UC inpatients refractory to intravenous corticosteroids and subsequently treated with infliximab. Nine of the 12 patients (75%) failed to respond to infliximab and required a colectomy; median time to colectomy was 3 months. Three patients (25%) did respond to infliximab and were able to withdraw from corticosteroids. In this open-label analysis, infliximab was not effective for the majority of UC patients refractory to intravenous corticosteroids. Whether earlier use of infliximab would prevent the need for hospitalization and colectomy is uncertain.