How many injections are needed for infliximab treatment in one year?

Infliximab is administered intravenously, and the frequency of administration depends on the patient's condition and responsiveness. The treatment plan for Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, active psoriatic arthritis(PA), ankylosing spondylitis is usually divided into two phases: induction phase and maintenance phase.

At the beginning of treatment, intravenous injections are given once each at week 0, week 2 and week 6. This is the so-called induction protocol, which aims to quickly suppress the inflammatory response and relieve symptoms. After entering the maintenance phase, patients usually receive injections every 8 weeks to maintain the effects of the drug and prevent recurrence of the disease. According to this standard, in a complete treatment cycle, approximately 6 to 9 injections are needed within a year.

The specific number of times depends on whether the patient continues to receive treatment regularly from week 0 and successfully transitions to the maintenance phase. For example, if the medication is standardized from the beginning of the year, then three induction doses plus maintenance injections every 8 weeks throughout the year will require a total of 9 treatments throughout the year. Of course, some patients may need to shorten the maintenance period injection interval or increase the dose, such as once every 6 weeks or every 4 weeks, due to complex conditions or insufficient response, which will lead to an increase in the number of injections required in a year.

In addition, if some patients experience drug failure or resistance during use, the treatment plan may need to be adjusted or combined with other drugs. Different indications and individual differences will also affect the frequency of treatment. For example, the medication cycle for rheumatoid arthritis may be slightly different. Therefore, the number of injections per year is not fixed, but needs to be determined by the doctor based on a comprehensive assessment of the patient's clinical response and tolerance. It is important that patients follow up on time and have regular reexaminations to ensure that the timing of each injection is appropriate to maximize the efficacy of the drug and reduce side effects.

Reference materials:https://www.drugs.com/infliximab.html