Plaque Psoriasis Medications May Trigger IBD

A recently published study evaluated increasing concerns that plaque psoriasis medications may trigger inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In the study, published in the American Journal of Dermatology, investigators sought to report adjudicated IBD cases in patients exposed to ixekizumab (Taltz), an antibody approved to treat plaque psoriasis. To determine if there was a correlation between the 2 disease states, investigators analyzed data on adverse events (AEs) reported by 4029 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who were exposed to any dose of ixekizumab across 7 trials.

The results of the study from the overall safety population showed 29 patients reported suspected Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis. Nineteen were adjudicated as definite or probable. The rates of new IBD cases were uncommon, occurring in less than 1% of patients with plaque psoriasis who received ixekizumab, according to the study results. Flares of preexisting disease were also found to be a rare occurrence.

Limitations to the study included the post hoc nature of the adjudication, —which may have limited the data needed for IBD confirmation, –and the lack of specific questions for patient and family IBD history in the case report forms.

“Moving forward, ongoing and future ixekizumab trials [should] include a comprehensive data-collection process that will provide greater detail for evaluation of potential IBD cases,” the study authors said. “This continued vigilance and postmarketing surveillance will help improve understanding of IBD incidence rates during treatment with this IL-17A antagonist.”