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Does smoking reduce infliximab's effectiveness against Crohn's disease?
N Narula | R Fedorak
Crohn's disease (CD) is an idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease and
has no known cure. CD symptoms are treated using an array of medicines,
including biological agents such as infliximab. However, infliximab
therapy is expensive; therefore, identifying variables that can
help predict response to infliximab is worthwhile. The present article
reviews the impact of tobacco smoking on the efficacy of infliximab in
CD. Earlier studies have speculated that smoking has a negative effect
on the response to infliximab in CD, but the current literature is
largely unable to identify a significant relationship between the two.
Although smoking is known to have a negative effect on the course of
CD, as well as other organ systems, presently, a CD patient's smoking
status should not influence treatment decisions regarding infliximab
therapy.
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