Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2024; 12(31): 6425-6427
Published online Nov 6, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i31.6425
Refractory ulcerative colitis: Upadacitinib versus other biologics
Said G Farhat, Jessy G Fadel
Said G Farhat, Jessy G Fadel, Department of Gastroenterology Research, Saint George University of Beirut, Beirut 00000, Lebanon
Said G Farhat, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital, Dubai 00000, United Arab Emirates
Author contributions: Farhat SG and Fadel JG contributed to this paper; Farhat SG designed the overall concept; Fadel JG contributed to the writing, discussion, and editing of the manuscript, and literature review; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Said G Farhat, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology Research, Saint George University of Beirut, Rmeil Street, Ashrafieh, Beirut 00000, Lebanon. saidfarhat@hotmail.com
Received: March 10, 2024
Revised: July 11, 2024
Accepted: August 1, 2024
Published online: November 6, 2024
Processing time: 184 Days and 8.9 Hours
Abstract

In this editorial we comment on an article published in World Journal of Clinical Cases in 2024, in which a case of refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) was discussed based on the response to different lines of biologics. Different studies showed that different classes of biologics have their advantages and disadvantages in the treatment of refractory UC. Certain classes are superior to others and if tried earlier on would lead to a possible change in the outcome.

Keywords: Refractory; Ulcerative colitis; Upadacitinib; Ustekinumab; Vedolizumab

Core Tip: Ulcerative colitis (UC), a major type of inflammatory bowel disease whose treatment is sometimes challenging and some patients do not respond well to the available therapies. We discuss the case of a patient diagnosed with refractory UC, with primary non-response to infliximab and vedolizumab (VDZ). The patient experienced recurrent symptoms after receiving mesalazine, prednisone, azathioprine, infliximab, and VDZ for more than four years. Through maximizing the upadacitinib (UPA) treatment, UC remission was achieved. This report suggests that the small-molecule UPA may be a new treatment option that requires further research.