Steroid-Refractory Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis in Infliximab-Experienced Patients

Abstract

Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is a potentially life-threatening complication of ulcerative colitis (UC) that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality, with a substantial number of patients needing colectomy. Infliximab (IFX) has been increasingly used as a rescue therapy for patients who have failed intravenous steroids and has been more frequently used as an induction and maintenance therapy in moderate-to-severe UC. Therefore, the number of patients admitted with ASUC previously exposed to IFX has been increasing, raising additional challenges in the medical management of these patients to avoid emergent colectomy. This narrative review intends to summarise the most recent evidence in the medical management of steroid-refractory ASUC patients previously exposed to IFX and to propose a treatment algorithm for approaching this difficult-to-treat group of patients.