Abstract
Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract [1]. Medical treatment includes 5-aminosalicylic acid, steroids, immunomodulators, and biologicals [2]; the choice of drug depending upon the extent and severity of the disease. The introduction of biological therapy in the late 1990s expanded the available therapeutic options, and numerous studies have shown that biological therapies are effective in inducing and maintaining clinical remission, allowing complete suspension of oral steroids in most cases [3]. Moreover, early mucosal healing induced by biological therapy is associated with fewer hospitalizations, fewer surgical interventions, and long-term clinical remission [3,4]. In Italy, two antitumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antibodies (infliximab and adalimumab) are currently available for the treatment of patients with CD. Infliximab is a chimeric immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) antibody administered intravenously, while adalimumab is a fully human IgG1 anti-TNF-α available for subcutaneous injection. Although no head-to-head trials comparing infliximab with adalimumab have been published to date, these two agents appear to have similar efficacy and adverse-event profiles, and so the choice depends on availability, route of delivery, patient preference, cost, and national
Published Version
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