Rare cases of IBD onset seen in patients with psoriasis on IL-17 inhibitors

The risk of new-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among patients with psoriasis exposed to interleukin-17 inhibitor (IL-17i) appears to be comparable to that among unexposed individuals, suggests a study. In addition, the incidence of IBD in exposed patients is low.

This retrospective cohort analysis was conducted to compare IBD risk in psoriatic patients with and without IL-17i exposure. Participants were identified using electronic health records data. The primary outcomes were 6-month and 1-year IBD incidence.

Crude 6-month IBD incidence was low at 0.16 percent among patients with psoriasis exposed to any IL-17i, 0.24 percent among those exposed to secukinumab alone, and 0.11 percent among those unexposed. At year 1, IBD incidence was 0.27 percent among IL-17i–exposed patients, 0.32 percent among those exposed to secukinumab alone, and 0.19 percent among those unexposed.

Adjusted analysis revealed no significant difference in the likelihood of developing IBD between exposed and unexposed patients with psoriasis at 6 months (odds ratio [OR], 1.42, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.45–4.43) and 1 year (OR, 1.37, 95 percent CI, 0.57–3.33). There was also no significant difference in the odds of IBD development at 6 months and 1 year between secukinumab-exposed and unexposed patients with psoriasis.

These findings were supported by another study, which found rare cases of IBD onset and exacerbation in patients exposed to IL-17i for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. [Drugs Context 2020;doi:10.7573/dic.2020-2-1]

The current study was limited by the low number of outcome events, according to the investigators.