Unfavorable outcome of antiviral therapy in cytomegalovirus-positive ulcerative colitis may be due to inappropriate study inclusion in meta-analysis

World J Gastroenterol. 2015 Feb 7;21(5):1689-90. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i5.1689.

Abstract

Some previous articles reported that antiviral treatment was effective to reduce the colectomy rate in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Kopylov et al recently carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of antiviral therapy on CMV-positive UC. The results showed that patients who received antiviral treatment had a higher risk of 30-d colectomy. We found that in this meta-analysis, some studies were inappropriately included, leading to an unfavorable outcome of anti-CMV therapy in UC patients.

Keywords: Antiviral therapy; Colectomy; Cytomegalovirus; Meta-analysis; Ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Colectomy*
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / surgery*
  • Colon / drug effects*
  • Colon / surgery*
  • Cytomegalovirus Infections / drug therapy*
  • Humans

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents