P407 Is the rapid infliximab infusion a safe and cost-saving strategy in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease?

Abstract

Abstract Background Rapid infliximab (IFX) infusion administered over 60 min is a safe strategy in selected Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) adult patients. Some paediatric studies found similar results among children but data are still scarce. The aim of our study is to evaluate the safety of rapid IFX infusion strategy in our cohort of Paediatric IBD (PIBD) patients and analyze the impact of this strategy on health care resources. Methods Paediatric IBD patients under IFX treatment using standard protocol (2-h IFX infusion), and who had received at least 4 previous standard infusions, with no dose change in the last 2 doses, and without infusion reactions were switched to receive a 1-h IFX infusions. Demographic and clinical data were collected from medical records, and patient and family satisfaction was recorded by a telephone survey. The optimisation of health care resources was also analyzed. Results A total of 46 PIBD patients were under IFX treatment during the study period (February 2018-February 2019) of whom 26 met inclusion criteria and were switched to rapid IFX infusions (14 Crohn’s disease (CD), 12 ulcerative colitis; 17 males). The mean age at switch was 15.3 years (IQR 5.3–17.9) with a mean time of IFX use of 30 months (IQR: 4–78). Sixteen patients were receiving concomitant immunomodulators. A total of 154 rapid IFX infusions were administered with a mean dose of IFX of 5.4 mg/kg (IQR 4–10) and an average frequency of 6.7 weeks (IQR 4–8). No patient received premedication at any time and no infusion reactions were seen during the study period. Family and patient satisfaction (22/26) was higher in rapid IFX infusion strategy than in standard protocol (9.1/10 vs. 7.6/10). During the study period, 154 h of hospitalisation were saved. Conclusion Rapid IFX infusion strategy in selected PIBD patients is safe and well accepted by patients and their families. In addition, it is a cost-saving strategy, minimising the loss of work and teaching hours by the caregivers and patients, and allows optimisation of the hospital resources. These results have led us to establish rapid IFX infusion in selected patients (with stable previous doses and no infusion reactions) as the standard protocol in our centre.