The College of Pharmacy discussed the PhD dissertation entitled “Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Infliximab to Assess Response in Iraqi Patients with Moderate to Severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease” by the student Hussein Hazim Saleh and the supervisor, Assistant Professor Dr. Dheyaa Jabbar Kadhim, at the Clinical Pharmacy Department and Consultant Dr. Raghad Jawad Hussein. The study aimed to determine the achievement of TL target, the development of ADA to infliximab, and assess the response to make appropriate recommendations to modify infliximab treatment (escalate dose or switch to another drug class) in patients. The study was cross-sectional and conducted at the Gastrointestinal and Hepatology Teaching Hospital/Medical City/Baghdad / Iraq during the period from May 2022 to June 2023. Eighty IBD patients (40 with UC and 40 with CD) were included in the current study during the regular visit to take the maintenance dose of infliximab. The study concluded that therapeutic drug monitoring for infliximab is an important tool for optimizing treatment for IBD patients and to explain the possible causes of non-responsiveness to this drug with subsequent recommendations based on these findings. Increase Age and lower ESR had an association with TL achievement in UC patients and may be used as markers for TL achievement of infliximab therapy. Increased serum CALP had an association with TL achievement in CD patients and may be used as a new marker to correlate with TL achievement of infliximab therapy. Increasing trough levels and PCV and decreasing OSM had associations with response in UC patients and may be used to correlate the response to infliximab therapy. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate had an association with response in CD patients and may be used as a marker for response to infliximab therapy.The study recommended that TDM is necessary to be available to all IBD on infliximab to restore response, prevent failure to therapy, and ascertain an effective therapy with cost savings. The recommendation to the Iraqi Ministry of Health to make an effort to make TDM tests as part of routine tests for IBD patients on infliximab therapy
