Cure8 research brief
This study directly compares two rescue medications used when intravenous steroids fail in acute severe ulcerative colitis, reporting similar short-term remission and safety but a slower early response with tacrolimus — information that could influence treatment choices in the hospital setting.
Clinicians treating hospitalized ASUC patients, gastroenterology teams deciding rescue therapy, researchers studying rescue strategies, and patients with severe UC or those on biologic or immunosuppressive treatments.
This analysis pooled 300 patients from 34 Japanese centers treated between 2014 and 2023. The primary outcome was patient-reported clinical remission at day 14; remission rates were 41.6% with infliximab and 33.7% with tacrolimus, with no statistically significant difference after adjustment.
Early clinical response at day 3 was lower with tacrolimus (24.1% vs 42.5%), though responses at day 7 were similar. Colectomy rates within 56 days did not differ significantly after adjustment, and adverse event rates were similar between groups.
How to use this information For patients and clinicians facing IV corticosteroid–refractory ASUC, this study suggests tacrolimus can be considered an alternative to infliximab with comparable short-term remission and safety, but it may act more slowly in the first days.
Decisions should still consider individual patient factors, local availability, and clinical judgment.
This is a retrospective multicenter cohort from Japan; results reflect real-world practice but are not from a randomized trial. The abstract provides study-level outcomes; full paper review may provide more detail on dosing, concomitant therapies, and subgroup analyses.
Review the original publication for the complete reporting, methods, and context.
Funding disclosed by the source: Japanese Society for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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