Review
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. May 6, 2014; 5(2): 63-76
Published online May 6, 2014. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v5.i2.63
Use of thiopurines in inflammatory bowel disease: Safety issues
Anastasia Konidari, Wael El Matary
Anastasia Konidari, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool L12 2AP, United Kingdom
Wael El Matary, Section of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Manitoba R3A 1S1, Canada
Author contributions: Konidari A and El Matary W solely contributed to this paper including conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data; drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content; granting final approval of the version to be published.
Correspondence to: Dr. Wael El Matary, MD, Associate Professor, Section of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, AE 408-840 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3A 1S1, Canada. welmatary@hsc.mb.ca
Telephone: +1-11-2047871039 Fax: +1-11-2047871450
Received: October 22, 2013
Revised: December 27, 2013
Accepted: February 18, 2014
Published online: May 6, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: This review summarises the safety issues around thiopurine use in adult and paediatric inflammatory bowel disease. Adverse drug effects, toxicity and malignancy risks, interactions with concomitant medications, clinical and laboratory drug surveillance and value of pharmacogenetics in therapeutic drug monitoring are discussed.