Mucosal healing (MH) and histological healing (HH) have recently been presented as potential therapeutic targets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The current study aimed to assess real-life achievement of such outcomes in a cohort of juvenile IBD patients treated with anti-TNF-alpha (ATA) medications. A retrospective analysis was conducted on IBD patients who received ATA and were followed up on at two referral centres. During the study period, 78 patients with Crohn’s disease [CD] and 56 patients with ulcerative colitis [UC] underwent endoscopic re-assessment. MH was attained by 32 CD (41%) and 30 UC (53.6%) patients, whereas HH was attained by 26 CD and 22 UC. For CD and UC, the MH incidence rate was 19.1/1000 and 47/1000 person-months, respectively, whereas the HH incidence rate was 15.5/1000 and 34.7/1000 person-months. In CD, remission at the end of induction was linked with increased frequencies of MH and HH. Adalimumab was linked to decreased MH and HH rates in UC.
The study presented a real-world experience from a large cohort of paediatric IBD patients who underwent ATA planned treatment. MH was attained by less than half of CD patients and slightly more than half of UC patients. Microscopical inflammation was found in 18.8 percent of CD patients and 26.7 percent of UC patients who received MH. Overall, MH and HH rates appear to be lower than previously reported figures.
