Combination therapy of infliximab and thalidomide for refractory entero-Behcet's disease: a case report

BMC Gastroenterology

Side Liu²  Aimin Li²  Wei Zhang²  Zhihui Mo²  Xianfei Wang¹  Zelong Han²  Yue Li² 

[1] Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China;Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China

关键词: Thalidomide;    Infliximab;    Entero-Behcet's disease;   

Others  :  1228162
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-230X-13-167

 received in 2013-07-20, accepted in 2013-11-27,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disease with the histopathological features of leukocytoclastic vasculitis that affects nearly all organs and systems. When it involves the intestine, it is called entero-Behcet's disease (entero-BD).

Case presentation

Here we described a 23-year-old man with entero-BD refractory to conventional therapies who responded well to the combination therapy of infliximab, an anti-tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF)-alpha antibody, and thalidomide. After combination treatment, the patient’s symptoms improved greatly and his Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score decreased from 344 to 52 points, accompanied by a body weight increase from 53 kg to 64 kg. A follow-up endoscopy performed 10 weeks after the treatment showed significant improvement and the patient's multiple ulcers had healed well.

Conclusion

The combination therapy of infliximab and thalidomide appears to be clinically effective in a patient with refractory entero-BD. However, further studies need to be performed to evaluate the efficacy of this combination therapy.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Li et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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