Direct retrospective comparison of adalimumab and infliximab in preventing early postoperative endoscopic recurrence after ileocaecal resection for Crohn's disease : results from the MULTIPER database

Both adalimumab (ADA) and infliximab (IFX) seem to be effective in the prevention of early postoperative endoscopic recurrence (EPER) after ileocaecal resection in Crohn's disease (CD) patients. There is lack of data with direct comparison between the two agents in the postoperative scenario. The aim of this study was to compare the rates of EPER in patients treated with ADA and IFX after ileocaecal resection for CD.METHODS:This was a multicenter retrospective analysis of EPER rates in CD patients after ileocaecal resections, from 7 referral centres from 3 countries. Endoscopic recurrence was defined as Rutgeerts' score ≥i2. The patients were allocated, according to treatment in two groups: ADA or IFX. The EPER rates were compared between the two treatment groups.RESULTS:From the 168 patients included in the database, 96 received anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents after resection (37 in the ADA and 59 in the IFX groups) and were included in this comparative study. The groups were comparable in all baseline characteristics, mainly age, gender, previous resections, perianal CD and mono or combination therapy. EPER was identified in 9/37 (24.32%) in the ADA group versus 16/59 (27.12%) in the IFX group (p=0.815).CONCLUSIONS:In this retrospective direct comparison between ADA and IFX therapy after ileocaecal resection, there was no significant difference between the two anti-TNF agents in terms of EPER rates. However, prospective randomized studies are needed to confirm these data and better define the role of each agent in the prevention of EPER.