Real-world experience of adalimumab therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis: A single tertiary medical center experience in Central Taiwan

There are few studies on the treatment outcomes of adalimumab therapy in Taiwanese patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). A total of 102 patients with ulcerative colitis were identified from the electronic clinical database of the Changhua Christian Hospital. The demographic data and clinical features of the disease pattern of the UC patients receiving adalimumab therapy were retrospectively reviewed. Between January 2015 and June 2020, 18 patients with UC received adalimumab therapy. Due to the absence of a response, 5 of the 18 patients (27.7%) only received the induction therapy. Of the 13 patients who received maintenance adalimumab therapy, four discontinued the therapy: three (23.1%) stopped due to a loss of response, and one (7.7%) stopped due to a cutaneous reaction to adalimumab. Because of Taiwan's 1-year limit on the use of adalimumab, seven patients relapsed and required a second course of therapy. The median period between course completion and relapse was 31 weeks. Two (20%) of the ten patients who finished the first course of therapy did not experience a relapse. The treatment response of patients with UC to adalimumab therapy appears to be comparable to those in previously published Western studies. The majority of patients who responded to adalimumab will relapse following a limited duration of adalimumab therapy in Taiwan.