In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), use of the anti-TNF agent infliximab has been associated with reduced serological responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. 6,935 patients with IBD were recruited from 92 hospitals across the UK in the CLARITY study, and antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection were examined in patients treated with infliximab or vedolizumab (a reference cohort). Rates of symptomatic and proven SARS-CoV-2 infection were similar between the groups, but seroprevalence was lower in the infliximab group than in the vedolizumab group (3.4% versus 6.0%, P < 0.0001). Seroconversion and the magnitude of anti-SARS-CoV-2 reactivity were also attenuated in the infliximab group. Moreover, serological responses in infliximab-treated patients were further diminished by concomitant immunodulator use (thiopurines or methotrexate; only 37% of these individuals had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies); both infliximab and immunomodulator use were independently associated with lower seropositivity.
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Kennedy, N. A. et al. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses are attenuated in patients with IBD treated with infliximab. Gut https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2021-324388 (2021)
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Ray, K. Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection are attenuated in infliximab-treated patients with IBD. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 18, 286 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00445-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00445-1
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