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Background and Aims: Although commonly used in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], thiopurines frequently cause intolerance, and switching to a second thiopurine has only been reported in some small series. Ours aims in this study were to evaluate the safety of switching to a second thiopurine in a large cohort, and to assess the impact of age on tolerance., Methods: Adult IBD patients from the ENEIDA registry, who were switched to a second thiopurine due to adverse events [excluding malignancies and infections], were identified. At the beginning of thiopurine treatment, patients were divided by age into two groups: 18-50 and over 60 years of age. The rate and concordance of adverse events between the first and second thiopurines, treatment intolerance, and persistence with the second thiopurine were evaluated., Results: A total of 1278 patients [13% over 60 years of age] were switched to a second thiopurine. At 12 months, the cumulative probability of switch intolerance was 43%, and persistence with treatment was 49%. Independent risk factors of switch intolerance were age over 60 years (odds ratio [OR] 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-2.07; p = 0.017) , previous gastrointestinal toxicity [OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.11-1.78; p = 0.005], previous acute pancreatitis [OR 6.78; 95% CI 2.55-18.05; p <0.001], and exposure to the first thiopurine <6 months [OR 1.59; 95% CI 1.14-2.23; p = 0.007]., Conclusions: In a large series in clinical practice, switching to a second thiopurine proved to be a valid strategy. Tight monitoring of elderly IBD patients switching to a second thiopurine because of adverse events is recommended., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Infliximab induces remission and improves the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with refractory or fistulous Crohn's disease (CD). However, little information is available as to whether its effect on HRQOL is sustained over time. The objective was to measure the HRQOL of CD patients in long-term clinical remission., Methods: Prospective, observational study was undertaken in patients with CD in infliximab-induced clinical remission (Harvey index <3) for at least 6 months, and receiving long-term infliximab and azathioprine maintenance therapy. Patients were followed for 4 years or until clinical relapse (Harvey index >3). HRQOL was assessed annually using the validated Spanish version of the disease-specific 36-item Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ-36) and the EuroQol-5D., Results: Forty-nine patients with CD in stable clinical remission were included at baseline. At 12 months, n = 42 patients remained in remission, at 24 months n = 32 patients, at 36 months n = 13, and in the last visit at 48 months 6 patients remained in clinical remission. The overall score on the IBDQ-36 remained unchanged in patients with stable, inactive CD (median overall score of 6.1 at baseline and 6.5 at 4 years). Scores on all 5 dimensions of the IBDQ-36 remained unchanged over the study period in stable patients. Patients in remission scored highly on the preference value ratings of the EuroQol-5D (scores of 1.0) and remained unchanged in patients who remained in remission., Conclusions: Sustained clinical remission of CD achieved with maintenance treatment maintains HRQOL over long-term follow-up.