Background: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) with a rapidly growing worldwide incidence. The last decades presented rapid progress in pharmacological treatment leading in many cases to clinical and endoscopic remission, including biological treatment with anti-TNF agents.
Aim: The exact timing of introduction, optimization and maintenance of anti-TNF therapy in IBDs is not thoroughly covered in current guidelines.
Methods: We used the Delphi panel methodology to gather the IBD experts' views and achieve consensus for clinical recommendations on introducing and maintaining anti-TNF therapy for patients with IBDs.
Results: Twelve recommendations achieved a high level of consensus in two assessment rounds by 52 (1st round) and 47 (2nd round) IBD experts.
Conclusion: In many clinical situations, the early use of anti-TNF therapy is recommended. Nowadays, the cost-efficacy profile of anti-TNF biosimilars makes them the first-line drug in a substantial proportion of patients, thus providing the opportunity to increase access to biological therapy.
Keywords: Anti-TNF; Crohn's disease; Delphi panel; Inflammatory bowel disease; Ulcerative colitis.
Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.