The Risk of Tuberculosis in Korean Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Receiving Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Blockers

The aims of this study were to assess the risk of tuberculosis (TB) and the status of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in Korean patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α blockers. We reviewed medical records of 525 Korean IBD patients (365 TNF-α blocker naïve and 160 TNF-α blocker exposed) between January 2001 and December 2013. The crude incidence of TB was significantly higher in IBD patients receiving TNF-α blockers compared to TNF-α-blocker-naïve patients (3.1% vs. 0.3%, P=0.011). The mean incidence of TB per 1,000 patient-years was 1.84 for the overall IBD population, 4.89 for TNF-α blocker users, and 0.45 for TNF-α-blocker-naïve patients. The adjusted risk ratio of TB in IBD patients receiving TNF-α blocker was 11.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.36-101.3). Pulmonary TB was prevalent in patients treated with TNF-α blockers (80.0%, 4/5). LTBI was diagnosed in 17 (10.6%) patients, and none of the 17 LTBI patients experienced reactivation of TB during treatment with TNF-α blockers. Treatment with TNF-α blockers significantly increased the risk of TB in IBD patients in Korea. De novo pulmonary TB infection was more prevalent than reactivation of LTBI, suggesting an urgent need for specific recommendations regarding TB monitoring during TNF-α blocker therapy.