Occurrence of infections under treatment with TNF alpha antagonists in ATTRA registry
Authors:
O. Šléglová 1; L. Burešová 2; J. Vencovský 1; K. Pavelka 1
Authors‘ workplace:
Revmatologický ústav, Praha, 2Institut biostatistiky a analýz, Brno
1
Published in:
Čes. Revmatol., 19, 2011, No. 2, p. 86-91.
Category:
Posts from Congress
Overview
The issue of infections on biological therapy has been widely discussed. According to clinical studies, anti-TNF alpha therapy obviously increases susceptibility to common infections. However, if we take a closer look at this issue, there is no completely clear opinion on the risk of severe infections, especially if patients are compared to a group treated with conventional agents and further risk factors are taken into account. According to published studies, the highest risk of infection follows the initiation of treatment, and infections occur more frequently during the first year of therapy. As to the localization, the respiratory system is most commonly affected. When the group of patients treated with anti-TNF alpha agents was compared with patients on conventional therapy, higher occurrence of infections of the skin, soft tissues and joints was described. In general, tendency towards granulomatous inflammation is increased. Aside from demonstrably increased risk of tuberculosis, which, however, is not elaborated in this article, there is also an increased risk of mycotic and some other infections during the anti-TNF alpha therapy. Out of viral infections, higher occurrence of herpes zoster has been described in association with monoclonal antibody therapy. Cases of hepatitis B reactivation have been reported in literature as well. In the article, we present the data from the Czech national registry of biological therapy (ATTRA). These data vary in some aspects from the published studies. Nevertheless, the numbers are still rough, for some entered parameters need to be specified and unified and the missing data provided.
Key words:
TNF alpha blocking agents, infections, rheumatic diseases
Sources
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Labels
Dermatology & STDs Paediatric rheumatology RheumatologyArticle was published in
Czech Rheumatology
2011 Issue 2
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