A Patient with KL-6 Elevation with Anti-TNFα Who Could Receive Long-Term Use without Interstitial Pneumonia after Class Switch of Anti-TNFα

Inflamm Intest Dis. 2019 May;4(1):35-40. doi: 10.1159/000497778. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Abstract

A 40-year-old man with refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) was treated with tumor necrosis factor α inhibitor (anti-TNFα), infliximab. One month later, the chest computed tomography and laboratory test showed noninfectious interstitial lung disease (ILD) and elevation of serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6). Fortunately, ILD disappeared after the discontinuation with anti-TNFα. Two and a half years after his first UC treatment, he was treated again with another anti-TNFα, adalimumab, for relapse and he had a second ILD. This course suggested anti-TNFα induced ILD. The characteristics of anti-TNFα-induced ILD in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are not well understood. We summarized and investigated the characteristics of such patients based on a literature review including 15 cases. It suggested that anti-TNFα-induced ILD in IBD might be rare and tends to have a better outcome compared with ILD in rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords: Crohn's disease; Inflammatory bowel disease; Interstitial lung disease; Ulcerative colitis; anti-TNFα.

Publication types

  • Case Reports