Background

Behcet’s disease is a systemic vasculitis which can involve gastrointestinal tract. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the efficacy and safety of anti-TNF agents in treating patients with intestinal Behcet’s disease.

Methods

We conducted searches on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane. Data from eligible studies was used to calculate the pooled estimate of proportions of clinical remission, mucosal healing at month 3, 6, 12 and 24 as well as the pooled incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADR). And subgroup analysis based on the specific type of anti-TNF agents was performed.

Results

Of the 828 studies initially identified, 13 were included finally, all of which were single-arm cohort studies. The pooled proportions of clinical remission at month 3, 6, 12, 24 were 0.61 (95%CI 0.48-0.78), 0.51 (95%CI 0.40-0.66), 0.57 (95%CI 0.48-0.67), and 0.38 (95%CI 0.16-0.88), respectively. The pooled proportions of mucosal healing at month 3, 6, 12, 24 were 0.66 (95%CI 0.50-0.86), 0.82 (95%CI 0.48-0.98), 0.65 (95%CI 0.51-0.81), and 0.69 (95%CI 0.39-1.00), respectively. The pooled estimate of proportion of overall adverse drug reactions for infliximab was 0.22 (95%CI 0.07-0.69).

Conclusion

Anti-TNF agents, including infliximab, adalimumab, was an efficient therapy for intestinal Behcet’s disease. The safety of anti-TNF agents used in the treatment of intestinal Behcet’s disease was acceptable.