ABSTRACT
The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in China is increasing year by year, however, the efficacy and safety of commonly used therapeutic methods are limited.Granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA) is one of the effective methods for treatment of IBD used abroad, however, there is still lacking of such research in China.Aims: To investigate the efficacy and safety of GMA in IBD patients.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 21 cases of IBD patients [13 cases with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 8 with Crohn's disease (CD)] who accepted GMA treatment from May 2013 to July 2014 at the Shanghai Rui Jin Hospital.All the cases were poor responders to 5-aminosalycylic acid (5-ASA) or steroid-refractory.The clinical data were collected, and the clinical activity index (CAI), endoscopic activity index (EAI), laboratory parameters including serum albumin (Alb), hemoglobin (Hb), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), leukocyte count and percentage of neutrophils, as well as the adverse effects before and two weeks after the end of GMA treatment were analyzed.Results: After GMA treatment, both CAI and EAI were decreased significantly in UC and CD groups as compared with those before treatment (P all 0.05).The treatment was well tolerated with no severe adverse effects.Conclusions: GMA is safe and effective for ameliorating clinical symptoms, attenuating intestinal mucosal injury and controlling active inflammation in IBD patient that has not responded to 5-ASA or steroid treatment.Prospective clinical studies with large samples are needed to confirm these findings.