Article about IBD meds and Opportunistic Infections

Hey you guys!

I thought you might be interested in this article that I came across. Maybe we aren't as prone to infections as we thought.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/706173?src=mp&spon=17&uac=35238FZ

Jen

Whoops, Sorry, I forgot about the subscription.

In summary:
The researchers found that "other immusupressive agents" (azathioprine, mercaptopurine and methotrexate) had a rate of 3.8 serious infections per 1000 person-years, Infliximab (Remi) had a rate of 7.4 serious infections per 1000 person-years.

0/1000 Remi infusions (actually 521 infusions) had patients that got c-diff infections. BUT 14/1000 person-years of people on corticosteriods got c-diff.

To quote the article "In a population-based cohort of patients with IBD, we found no meaningful association between infliximab and serious bacterial infections, although some subgroups had few events. Corticosteroid initiation increased the risk for C. difficile infections in these patients"

It's hard to summarize, so I hope I did a good job.
Jen