Abstract
Background
Data on the comparative effectiveness of infliximab (IFX) or adalimumab (ADA) in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) are rare, particularly for Asian patients. We compared the clinically key outcomes (surgery, hospitalisation, and corticosteroid use) of these two drugs in biologic-naive Korean patients with CD.
Methods
Using National Health Insurance claims, we collected data on patients who were diagnosed with CD and exposed to IFX or ADA between 2010 and 2016.
Results
We included 1488 new users of biologics (1000 IFX users and 488 ADA users). Over a median follow-up of 2.1 years after starting biological therapy, there were no significant differences in the risk of surgery (ADA vs. IFX; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86–1.95), hospitalisation (aHR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.84–1.32), and corticosteroid use (aHR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.58–1.22) between IFX and ADA users. These results were unchanged even when only patients who used biologics for over 6 months were analysed (aHR [95% CI]; surgery: 1.41 [0.88–2.26], hospitalisation: 1.06 [0.83–1.35], and corticosteroid use: 0.82 [0.56–1.21]). Additionally, these results were stable in patients treated with biological monotherapy or combination therapy with immunomodulators.
Conclusion
In this nationwide population-based study, there was no significant difference in the long-term effectiveness of IFX and ADA in the real-world setting of biologic-naive Korean patients with CD. In the absence of trials to directly compare IFX and ADA, our study supports that the choice of one of these two biologics may be allowed to be determined by the preference of patients and/or physicians.
Comparison of Long-term Outcomes of Infliximab versus Adalimumab in 1,488 Biologic-Naive Korean Patients with Crohn’s Disease
