[Adalimumab induction and maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease. An open-label study]

adalimumab has been shown in placebo-controlled clinical trials and uncontrolled studies to be effective in luminal and perianal fistulizing CD.

to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adalimumab for induction and maintenance therapy in CD.

twenty-two patients with CD treated with adalimumab (16 for luminal disease and 6 for active perianal fistulizing disease) were included. Twenty-one patients had previously received IFX. All patients received induction therapy with 160 mg s.c. at week 0, and 80 mg s.c. at week 2. Responders received maintenance therapy with 40 mg s.c. every 14 days. Response was assessed at 4 weeks after the initial dose, and classified as remission, partial response, or non-response.

after induction, 25% of patients with luminal disease had a complete remission, and 56.3% had a partial response. Clinical response was maintained in 71.6% of patients at 1 year, in 53.7% at 18 months, and in 35.8% at 48 months. No differences in response were observed between patients with hypersensitivity reactions or loss of response to IFX.All patients with perianal fistulizing disease (n = 6) had been previously treated with IFX. After induction 16.7% entered remission, and 66.7% had a partial response. All patients maintained remission or response over time, with a median follow-up of 15 months.

adalimumab is an effective and safe treatment for the induction and maintenance of response in luminal and perianal fistulizing CD. These results confirm that the findings obtained in controlled clinical trials are reproducible in clinical practice.