Association Between Prior Anti-TNF Exposure and Colectomy in Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis

To the Editors, we read with interest the article by Bourgonje et al. [1] exploring clinical, biochemical, and endoscopic factors as potential predictors for colectomy in patients hospitalized with acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) [1]. The authors found that prior anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) exposure is linked to a higher short- and long-term risk of colectomy in patients with ASUC. Prior international guidelines and studies have indicated that infliximab (IFX) can effectively induce and maintain remission in individuals with ASUC, as well as reduce the risk of short-term and long-term colectomy [2, 3]. Because the findings of the recent study different from previous studies and guidelines, several questions deserve attention. …