Prevalence of Immunomodulator Use as Combination Therapy With Vedolizumab or Ustekinumab in Inflammatory Bowel...

The benefit of adding an immunomodulator to vedolizumab and ustekinumab remains unclear and may compromise the safety of these biologics. We evaluated the prevalence and predictors of immunomodulator use with vedolizumab or ustekinumab in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in a large longitudinal cohort.

Clinical information was ascertained from electronic medical records of patients enrolled in TARGET-IBD, a prospective longitudinal observational cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at 34 sites. The prevalence of immunomodulator use with vedolizumab, ustekinumab, and antitumor necrosis factor therapies and predictors of immunomodulator use with vedolizumab and ustekinumab were estimated. Rates of combination therapy were additionally stratified by time from drug approval.

Four thousand thirty-nine adults with IBD were identified, of whom 18.8% were treated with vedolizumab and 13.0% were treated with ustekinumab. Combination therapy with vedolizumab and ustekinumab exceeded 30% (30.7% and 36.2%, respectively) and was more likely in those with perianal disease or previous biologic exposure. Age and presence of extraintestinal manifestations did not consistently predict the use of an immunomodulator. Combination therapy decreased in the years after drug approval.

Combination therapy with vedolizumab or ustekinumab was common and was associated with perianal disease and greater exposure to other biologics, although the practice is decreasing with time. Further data are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of combination therapy in patients initiating vedolizumab or ustekinumab for IBD.