On tolerability and safety of a maintenance treatment with 6-thioguanine in azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine intolerant IBD patients.
Publication year
2005Source
World Journal of Gastroenterology, 11, 35, (2005), pp. 5540-5544ISSN
Related links
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
Gastroenterology
Journal title
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Volume
vol. 11
Issue
iss. 35
Page start
p. 5540
Page end
p. 5544
Subject
N4i 1: Pathogenesis and modulation of inflammation; UMCN 4.2: Chronic inflammation and autoimmunityAbstract
AIM: To determine the tolerability and safety profile of a low-dose maintenance therapy with 6-TG in azathioprine (AZA) or 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) intolerant inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients over a treatment period of at least 1 year. METHODS: Database analysis. RESULTS: Twenty out of ninety-five (21%) patients discontinued 6-TG (mean dose 24.6 mg; mean 6-TGN level 540 pmol/8 x 10(8) RBC) within 1 year. Reasons for discontinuation were GI complaints (31%), malaise (15%) and hepatotoxicity (15%). Hematological events occurred in three patients, one discontinued treatment. In the 6-TG-tolerant group, 9% (7/75) could be classified as hepatotoxicity. An abdominal ultrasound was performed in 54% of patients, one patient had splenomegaly. CONCLUSION: The majority of AZA or 6-MP-intolerant IBD patients (79%) is able to tolerate maintenance treatment with 6-TG (dosages between 0.3 and 0.4 mg/kg per d). 6-TG may still be considered as an escape maintenance immunosuppressant in this difficult to treat group of patients, taking into account potential toxicity and efficacy of other alternatives. The recently reported hepatotoxicity is worrisome and 6-TG should therefore be administered only in prospective trials.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [205116]
- Electronic publications [103350]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [81054]
- Open Access publications [71830]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.