The aim of the study was to assess whether the incidence of infusion reactions (IR) increases after rapid (≤1 hour) infliximab (IFX) infusions, compared with standard (2-3 hour) infusions in children.
Systematic review including studies describing the number of IR after rapid IFX infusion in children ages 0 to 18 years.
Four records were included (3 retrospective, n = 498, 347 standard infusions, 3703 rapid infusions). Reported incidences of IR ranged from 0% to 2% of infusions in standard groups (reported 95% confidence intervals [CIs] ranged from 0% to 7%) and from 0% to 2% of infusions in rapid groups (reported 95% CIs ranged from 0% to 12%). None of the studies included reported a significant difference in incidence of IR between the 2 groups.
There is insufficient evidence to conclude whether the rate of IR after rapid IFX increases. The consistent finding of no increase in IR in all studies and the low rate of observed IR suggests there is no significant difference in rate of IR.