A Thiopurine with Infliximab Might Improve Efficacy in Crohn Disease

Prospective randomized data show that addition of a thiopurine to infliximab results in better outcomes than infliximab alone in the treatment of Crohn disease. The reasons for this have been postulated but never fully elucidated.

To investigate the possible mechanisms by which combination therapy improves outcomes, investigators retrospectively analyzed infliximab concentrations and antibody levels in some 200 patients with moderately to severely active Crohn disease enrolled in a large, industry-funded trial. Participants, naive to both drugs, had been randomized to combination infliximab and azathioprine or infliximab monotherapy. In the current analysis, outcomes of corticosteroid-free remission and mucosal healing were evaluated within …