Adalimumab for induction of remission in patients with Crohn's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE: A large number of people with Crohn's disease (CD) fail to recover from conventional therapy or biological therapy. Some studies showed that adalimumab (ADA) may be an effective alternative therapy for these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ADA in inducing CD remission. METHODS: We performed search of Pubmed/MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, the Cochrane IBD Group Specialized Register, and several other databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing any dose of ADA with controls (placebo or active) in participants with active CD were included. The primary outcome was the failure to achieve clinical response/remission at 4 weeks. Several subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Review Manager Software v5.3 was used. RESULTS: Four RCTs were included (n = 919), in which 553 participants received ADA and 366 participants received placebo. A meta-analysis of four studies showed that at 4 weeks, there were more people in the ADA group with clinical response/remission or symptom improvement compared with the placebo group. The rates of side effects, serious side effects, and study withdrawals due to side effects were lower in ADA participants than placebo ones. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis shows that ADA is superior to placebo in induction of clinical response/remission of CD patients, but no firm conclusions can be drawn on the safety of ADA in CD due to the low number of events. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40001-022-00817-6.