Comparing Disease Severity Before and After Infliximab Treatment in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (2015 - 2020) at a Tertiary Center

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children is rising globally. Infliximab, a biological drug, has emerged as a treatment option. Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of infliximab on IBD severity in children. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed infliximab’s efficacy in children with IBD from 2015 - 2020. Patients were categorized as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC), or indeterminate colitis, and disease severity was scored using established criteria. A score of 30 or higher in Crohn's disease was interpreted as moderate to severe, and a score below 10 indicated that the disease was silent and inactive. In UC, a score above 65 was severe, 30 - 64 was moderate, 10 - 29 was mild, and below 10 indicated inactive disease. A decrease of 12.5 points after starting the treatment was considered a suitable response to the drug. The data were analyzed with SPSS 26 software. Results: The study included 28 pediatric IBD patients, evenly split by gender, with an average age of 12.3. Disease severity decreased significantly post-infliximab treatment: From 66.20 ± 14.7 initially to 6.5 at 14 weeks. The severity reduction varied significantly across disease types (P = 0.02), with no demographic-based differences observed. Conclusions: Infliximab treatment markedly reduced IBD severity, demonstrating its effectiveness regardless of demographic factors.