A short-term safety study of tumor necrosis factor antagonists in rheumatic diseases / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the safety and tolerance of tumor necrosis factor-or (TNF-α)antagonists in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Methods The incidence of adverse events and their ultimate outcomes based on the clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory parameters of patients treated with etanereept or infliximab during January 2007 to October 2008 were analyzed. Results Severty eight patients were included. Most were rheumatoid arthritis (35%) and ankylosing spondylitis (41%) patients. Few of them were psoriasis arthritis (17%) patients and undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (6%) patients. Among those patients, 59 patients were treated with etanercept, 7 patients (12%) had adverse events in which the majority were injection reactions, upper respiratory tract infection and tuberculosis. Nineteen patients were treated with infliximab, in which 3 patients (16%) had adverse events. One patient (AS) had upper respiratory tract infection. One case (AS) had red papules all over the body and palpitations in the first 24 hours after two infusions. One patient (RA) had fever without identifiable causes after the 4th infusion. Some of the adverse reactions might subside without intervention, while others were controlled after proper treatment. Conclusion Both etanercept and infliximab have good safety and tolerance in treating rheumatic diseases, the adverse reactions are generally mild and can be controlled by appropriate treatment.