Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Reports Findings in Ulcerative Colitis (The Comparative Risk of Serious Adverse Events With Tofacitinib and TNF Inhibitors in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: The Korean Experience as Revealed by …): Digestive System Diseases and Conditions – Ulcerative Colitis

2022 MAY 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at South Korea Daily Report -- New research on Digestive System Diseases and Conditions - Ulcerative Colitis is the subject of a report. According to news reporting out of Wonju, South Korea, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Tofacitinib is an oral, small-molecule Janus kinase inhibitor approved in South Korea for the treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) on May 1, 2019. However, safety data are lacking.”

Financial support for this research came from Korea Health Industry Development Institute.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, “We investigated the incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs) in patients with UC using tofacitinib from the National Health Insurance Service database. In all, 1,026 UC patients were enrolled in this study. The overall incidences (100 person-years; 95% confidence interval) of SAEs were 4.06 (1.63-8.36) and 6.30 (4.59-8.43) in the tofacitinib and anti-TNFi groups, respectively. No thromboembolic event occurred and major cardiovascular events occurred in only three patients (two unstable angina and one congestive heart failure) in the tofacitinib group. The incidence of herpes zoster and tuberculosis did not differ between the two groups.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “There was no difference in the overall incidence of SAEs, including thromboembolic events, between tofacitinib- and TNFi-treated UC patients.”

For more information on this research see: The Comparative Risk of Serious Adverse Events With Tofacitinib and TNF Inhibitors in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: The Korean Experience as Revealed by a National Database. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 2022;37(16). Journal of Korean Medical Science can be contacted at: Korean Acad Medical Sciences, 302 75 Dong Du Ichon, Dong Yongsan Ku, Seoul 140 031, South Korea.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Gi Hyeon Seo, Healthcare Review and Assessment Committee, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Wonju, South Korea.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e123. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Korean Medical Science is: Korean Acad Medical Sciences, 302 75 Dong Du Ichon, Dong Yongsan Ku, Seoul 140 031, South Korea.

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