Full text: Increased prevalence of anti‐TNF therapy in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease is associated with a decline in surgical resections during childhood JJ Ashton et al. Alim Pham Ther 2019; https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15094

From absract:

Design: All patients diagnosed with PIBD within Wessex from 1997 to 2017 were assessed. The prevalence of anti‐TNF‐therapy and yearly surgery rates (resection and perianal) during childhood (<18 years) were analysed

Results: Eight‐hundred‐and‐twenty‐five children were included (498 Crohn’s disease, 272 ulcerative colitis, 55 IBD‐unclassified), mean age at diagnosis 13.6 years (1.6‐17.6), 39.6% female. The prevalence of anti‐TNF‐treated patients increased from 5.1% to 27.1% (2007‐2017), P = 0.0001. Surgical resection‐rate fell (7.1%‐1.5%, P = 0.001), driven by a decrease in Crohn’s disease resections (8.9%‐2.3%, P = 0.001)…

Patients started on anti‐TNF‐therapy less than 3 years post‐diagnosis (11.6%) vs later (28.6%) had a reduction in resections, P = 0.047. Anti‐TNF‐therapy prevalence was the only significant predictor of resection‐rate using multivariate regression (P = 0.011).

Conclusion: The prevalence of anti‐TNF‐therapy increased significantly, alongside a decrease in surgical resection‐rate. Patients diagnosed at younger ages still underwent surgery during childhood. Anti‐TNF‐therapy may reduce the need for surgical intervention in childhood, thereby influencing the natural history of PIBD.

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