Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD) can appear de novo or worsen after liver transplant. Our aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of anti-tumor necrosis-alpha (anti-TNF-α) agents after transplantation.
We reviewed the clinical database of our center searching for all liver transplant patients with inflammatory bowel disease who were treated with anti-TNF-α agents between 1997 and 2017. Clinical response was assessed from clinical activity indices 12 weeks after starting treatment. The median age of the 6 patients (3 women) was 37 years. Four patients were diagnosed before transplantation (2 UC and 2 CD), and in the other 2 the disease appeared de novo (1 UC and 1 CD). The indications for transplant were primary sclerosing cholangitis (n = 3), cryptogenic cirrhosis (n = 2), and hepatitis C virus cirrhosis (n = 1).
Clinical response was seen in 3 of the 6 patients and, in the 3 cases for whom endoscopic data were available, no mucous healing was seen. The only adverse effects noted over a mean follow-up of 15 months were 1 cytomegalovirus infection and 1 severe infusion reaction to infliximab. No patients had recurrence of primary sclerosing cholangitis in the graft, and none of the patients died.
Use of an anti-TNF-α agent in a liver transplant patient with inflammatory bowel disease may be an effective option, with an acceptable risk-benefit ratio. Further studies are required to confirm their use in this context.