Tolerability of Shortened Infliximab Infusion Times in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Single-Center Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES: Scheduled maintenance therapy with infliximab decreases the risk of infusion reactions. Many centers have accelerated infusion times to 1 h in selected patients who tolerate 5 mg/kg infliximab infusions. The aim of this study was to compare the tolerability of 1-h and 2-h infliximab infusions in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a large single-center cohort. The primary end point was the incidence of infusion reactions in both groups. METHODS: A retrospective chart analysis of all IBD patients treated with infliximab was performed. Infusions in scheduled maintenance for at least 6 months from December 1994 until March 2009 were included. All patients were treated at the infusion unit or during hospitalization under standard operating procedures. Infusion parameters were prospectively recorded. From 2004, in patients tolerating at least four 2-h infusions, infusions were given over 1 h. RESULTS: As of March 2009, 953 patients with IBD (77.6% Crohn's disease, 22.4% ulcerative colitis) had been treated with infliximab. A total of 474 patients met the criteria of scheduled maintenance therapy. In total, 9,155 maintenance infusions were administered (4,307 over 1 h). No severe infusion reactions were documented. Mild acute reactions occurred in 0.6% (27/4,307) of the 1-h-infusion group and in 1.7 % (80/4848) of the 2-h infusion group (P = 0.0034). Delayed infusion reactions occurred in 0.2 % of 1-h and 0.5% of 2-h infusion group patients (P = 0.277). Loss of tolerability due to infusion reactions (1-h group 2.9% versus 2-h group 4.1%) was evenly distributed (P = 0.34). None of the prespecified variables were predictive of infusion reactions in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with IBD tolerating 2-h infusions of infliximab scheduled maintenance therapy, the infusion time can be shortened to 1 h with good tolerability. No severe reactions were observed and no predictors of infusion reactions were identified.