Similar Clinical Outcomes of Early andLate Anti-TNF Initiation for Ulcerative Colitis:A Nationwide Population-Based Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#The optimal timing of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) initiation in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) remainsunclear. Very little is known about the clinical outcomes after the early versus late initiation of anti-TNF therapy, especially inAsian UC patients. Here we aimed to assess whether earlier anti-TNF treatment initiation results in favorable clinical outcomes inKorean UC patients. @*Materials and Methods@#Using the Korean National Health Insurance claims database, we studied patients who were diagnosedwith UC and received anti-TNF therapy for more than 6 months between 2010 and 2016. Using a Cox proportional hazard model,clinical outcomes including colectomy, UC-related emergency room (ER) visits, UC-related hospitalizations, and the need for corticosteroidswere compared between early (≤2 years of diagnosis) and late (>2 years of diagnosis) initiators of anti-TNF therapy. @*Results@#Among 17167 UC patients, 698 patients who received anti-TNF therapy for more than 6 months were included (420 infliximab,242 adalimumab, and 36 golimumab). Of the 698 patients, 299 (42.8%) initiated anti-TNF therapy within 2 years of diagnosis.There were no significant differences in the risk of colectomy [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 0.41; 95% confidence interval(CI), 0.04–3.90], ER visits (aHR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.50–1.92), hospitalization (aHR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.57–1.01), and corticosteroid use(aHR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.71–1.50) between early and late initiators of anti-TNF therapy. @*Conclusion@#Patients receiving early anti-TNF therapy had similar clinical outcomes to those of late initiators, suggesting that earlyanti-TNF therapy initiation offers little benefit in patients with UC.