Rapid Infliximab Infusion in Children
A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study
During the last 3 years, D.T. received consultation fees, research grants, royalties, or honoraria from Janssen, Pfizer, Hospital for Sick Children, Ferring, MegaPharm, AstraZeneca, Abbvie, Takeda, Rafa, Boehringer Ingelheim, Biogen, Atlantic Health, and Shire. None of these entities played any role in the present study. The other authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
ABSTRACT
Pediatric data on rapid infliximab infusion are scarce. We report our experience with a 1-hour rapid infusion protocol, prescribed in 3 pediatric inflammatory bowel disease units during 18 to 26 months. Children treated with infliximab for inflammatory bowel disease using a standard 2- to 3-hour infusion protocol were switched to a 1-hour protocol if they had received at least 4 standard duration infusions with no infusion reactions, there was no recent dose increase and no more than 10 weeks had elapsed since the previous infusion. A total of 102 children received infliximab infusions during the study period (85 Crohn disease; mean age 14.6 ± 2.6 years) of whom 63 were switched to the rapid infusions. Seven patients on the rapid protocol (11%) and 6 patients on the standard protocol (15%) had infusion reactions (P = 0.55). Consistent with adult data, our study indicates that a 1-hour infliximab protocol in selected patients offers a safe alternative to the traditional 2- to 3-hour infusions.
