Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35303065›Full record

ArticleJournal of Crohn's & colitis2022

Favourable Tolerability and Drug Survival of Tioguanine Versus Methotrexate After Failure of Conventional Thiopurines in Crohn's Disease.

E H J Savelkoul, M H J Maas, A R Bourgonje, F Crouwel, V B C Biemans, N den Broeder, M G V M Russel, T E H Römkens, N K de Boer, G Dijkstra and 1 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Crohn's & colitis, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Saudi consensus guidance for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease in children and adolescents.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association · 2025
    Guideline
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Personalized medicine to implementation science: Thiopurines set for the leap.JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

E H J SavelkoulDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-9459-1400
M H J MaasDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
A R BourgonjeDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-5754-3821
F CrouwelDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, VU University, AGEM Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-8755-9146
V B C BiemansDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-1361-8868
N den BroederDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
M G V M RusselDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
T E H RömkensDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
N K de BoerDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, VU University, AGEM Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
G DijkstraDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
F HoentjenDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Radboud University Nijmegen · NLUniversity Medical Center Groningen · NLJeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis · NLMedisch Spectrum Twente · NLUniversity Medical Center Utrecht · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsBoth methotrexate and tioguanine can be considered as treatment options in patients with Crohn's disease after failure of conventional thiopurines. This study aimed to compare tolerability and drug survival of methotrexate and tioguanine therapy after failure of conventional thiopurines in patients with Crohn's disease.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective, multicentre study, including patients with Crohn's disease initiating monotherapy methotrexate or tioguanine after failure [all causes] of conventional thiopurines. Follow-up duration was 104 weeks or until treatment discontinuation. The primary outcome was cumulative therapy discontinuation incidence due to adverse events. Secondary outcomes included total number of [serious] adverse events, and ongoing monotherapy.

resultsIn total, 219 patients starting either methotrexate [n = 105] or tioguanine [n = 114] were included. In all 65 [29.7%] patients (methotrexate 43.8% [46/105 people], tioguanine 16.7% [19/114 people], p <0.001) discontinued their treatment due to adverse events during follow-up. Median time until discontinuation due to adverse events was 16 weeks (interquartile range [IQR] 7-38, p = 0.812). Serious adverse events were not significantly different. Patients treated with methotrexate experienced adverse events more often [methotrexate 83%, tioguanine 46%, p <0.001]. Total monotherapy drug survival after 104 weeks was 22% for methotrexate and 46% for tioguanine [p <0.001].

conclusionsWe observed a higher cumulative discontinuation incidence due to adverse events for methotrexate [44%] compared with tioguanine [17%] in Crohn's disease patients after failure of conventional thiopurines. The total adverse events incidence during methotrexate use was higher, whereas serious adverse events incidence was similar. These favourable results for tioguanine treatment may guide the selection of immunosuppressive therapy after failure of conventional thiopurines.

Indexed as

Crohn DiseaseThioguanineHumansImmunosuppressive AgentsMethotrexateRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeImmunosuppressive AgentsMethotrexateThioguanineimmunosuppressivesInflammatory bowel diseasesside effects

Identifiers

PMID35303065
PMCPMC9455785
OpenAlexW4221025366

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.