title: Short article: Remicade infusions at home: an alternative setting of infliximab therapy for patients with Crohn's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infliximab maintenance treatment for Crohn's disease (CD) consists of intravenous infusions that are usually given at 6-8-week intervals. We aimed to evaluate whether home-based infliximab infusions could offer a useful and safe alternative for the management of CD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult CD patients receiving infliximab maintenance treatment at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam were invited to receive their infusions at home for the duration of 1 year. Patients had to be in clinical remission and should have had no adverse events during previous infusions. Patient satisfaction and experience were studied. Costs were analyzed and compared with hospital-based infliximab infusions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine patients were invited, of whom 13 (45%) wanted to participate. Of the participants, 54% were female, and the median age was 33 years. In total, 59 infliximab infusions were administered at home at a median dose of 360 mg. The median rating of patient satisfaction was 8 on a scale from 1 to 10 for both home and hospital treatment settings. An important observation was that patients' willingness to participate would have been 70% if the possibility of receiving infusions at home outside office hours had been offered. Costs of infliximab infusions at home were €229 per infusion compared with €284 at the infusion clinic (excluding drug costs).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Home-based infliximab infusions were associated with a cost saving of €55 per infusion. Most participants were satisfied and would recommend home-based infusions to others. Infliximab treatment at home might be recommended as routine care for CD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuin
authors.forename: Suzan B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Stolte
authors.forename: Gijs R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.forename: Cyriel Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Ponsioen
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fockens
authors.forename: Geert R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: D'Haens
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Löwenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D017046:Cost Savings; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based / Q000191:economics; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D000069285:Infliximab / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D000069285:Infliximab