Effectiveness of Ustekinumab on Crohn‘s Disease Associated Spondyloarthropathy: Real-World Data from the Sicilian Network for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (SN-IBD)
Fabio Salvatore Macaluso, Walter Fries, Anna Viola, Giuseppe Costantino, Marco Muscianisi, Maria Cappello, Laura Guida, E Giuffrida, Antonio Magnano, Dario Pluchino, Concetta Ferracane, Giovanni Magrì, Roberto Di Mitri, Filippo Mocciaro, Antonino Carlo Privitera, S. Camilleri, Serena Garufi, Sara Renna, Angelo Casà, B. Scrivo, Marco Ventimiglia, Ambrogio Orlando
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of Ustekinumab (UST) on Crohn's disease (CD)-associated spondyloarthropathy (SpA) is currently unknown. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: All consecutive CD patients with active SpA at the initiation of the treatment with UST were extracted from the cohort of the Sicilian Network for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (SN-IBD). The primary outcome was the articular response at 8 and 24 weeks, defined as the disappearance of objective signs of arthritis (swelling and/or articular stiffness) and resolution of pain. RESULTS: Thirty CD patients with active SpA at the initiation of the treatment with UST were assessed. At 24 weeks, 13 patients (43.3%) had an articular response, including 10/18 patients (55.5%) with peripheral SpA and 3/9 patients (33.3%) with axial and peripheral SpA. No patient with axial SpA experienced an articular response. The drop of mean as Harvey-Bradshaw Index values from baseline to week 24 was higher in patients with articular response compared with non-responders (3.8 ± 2.4 vs. 1.3 ± 2.8, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Our real-world, multicentre experience showed that UST was able to obtain a response on articular symptoms in nearly half of the patients with CD and active SpA after 24 weeks of treatment.