Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Linked to Serious Infection

Biological drugs (biologics) taken in standard and high doses for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were associated with a heightened risk for serious infection, compared to traditional treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

In the past, evidence of any association between biologics and increased risk of serious infection has been inconsistent.
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To further explore the issue, researchers conducted a systematic review of 106 trials that included patients with RA who received 1 of 9 biologics with or without DMARDs.

Overall, the study showed that the number of serious infections increased by 6 per 1000 patients per year for standard-dose biological drugs and 55 per 1000 patients per year for combination biological therapy compared to traditional treatment with DMARDs.

“Standard-dose and high-dose biological drugs (with or without traditional DMARDs) are associated with an increase in serious infections in rheumatoid arthritis compared with traditional DMARDs, although low-dose biological drugs are not. Clinicians should discuss the balance between benefit and harm with the individual patient before starting biological treatment for rheumatoid arthritis,” they said.

The complete study is published in the May issue of the Lancet.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:

Singh JA, Cameron C, Noorbaloochi SN, et al. Risk of serious infection in biological treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2015 May [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61704-9.