Prevalence of aphthous stomatitis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease after the treatment with monoclonal antibodies: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Currently, the most frequently employed therapies in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), i.e., Crohn's Disease (CD), Ulcerative Colitis (UC) or unclassified IBD (IBD-U) are monoclonal anti-TNFs and anti-integrin therapies, such as vedolizumab (VDZ). Forty-seven per cent of these patients present extra-intestinal manifestations, the second most prevalent being aphthous stomatitis (AS). The present study aims to investigate which of the two therapies is associated with a lower prevalence of AS after treatment. An electronic search of the MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science, SCOPUS, LILACS and OpenGrey databases was carried out. The criteria used were those described by the PR…