Long-Term Outcomes and Predictors of Sustained Response in Patients with Intestinal Behcet’s Disease Treated with Infliximab

Intestinal Behcet’s disease (BD) is a specific subtype of BD. Effective drug therapy for intestinal BD remains elusive.

To investigate long-term outcomes and identify predictors of sustained response in intestinal BD patients receiving infliximab (IFX) treatment.

The medical records were reviewed of patients received IFX from September 2012 to March 2016. The cumulative probabilities of sustained response were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier. Predictor factors for sustained response were accessed by receiver operating characteristic curve.

Totally, 27 active intestinal BD patients were enrolled. Sustained responses were observed in 17 patients, after a median follow-up duration 24 months (interquartile range 9–37). The proportion of clinical remission at week 14, 30, and 52 had occurred in 84.6, 70, and 70%, respectively, with the proportion of clinical remission of 69.2, 40, and 55%. The mucosal healing (MH) rate at week 14 was 72%. Kaplan–Meier estimated patients with achievement of clinical and biological responses at week 14 or MH was likely to remain sustained clinical response. ROC curve analysis revealed CRP level (of 6.85 mg/L) at week 14 is a potential predictor for discriminating patients with sustained response from relapse, with an area under the curve values of 0.837.

IFX is effective and safe for induction and maintenance therapy in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe active intestinal BD. Early achievement of clinical response and mucosal healing might associate long-term response. A lower CRP level seems to be associated with a more benign clinical course.