Evaluation of the safety and satisfaction of rheumatic patients with accelerated infliximab infusion.

INTRODUCTION: Infliximab infusion generally occurs in 2-4 h. Recent studies have suggested the possibility of accelerated infusion (1 h) of this drug. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety of accelerated infliximab infusion in patients with rheumatic diseases. In addition, patient satisfaction was also assessed. METHODS: A prospective, single-center, non-randomized study with 34 patients with rheumatic diseases was conducted from July to November 2016. Patients with the following were excluded: history of allergic reaction to biologics, asthma or severe atopy. All patients previously received a 2- to 3-h infliximab infusion. The infusion rate was accelerated to 1 h, and premedication was excluded. The infusion was monitored in all patients. RESULTS: A total of 34 patients were included in the study [rheumatoid arthritis (n = 16), ankylosing spondylitis (n = 15), psoriatic arthritis (n = 2) and enteropathic arthropathy (n = 1)], with an average age of 48.7 ± 18.6 years; 55.5% of the patients were female, and 29.4% were white. The duration of disease was 9.5 ± 9.2 years, and the duration of infliximab use was 38.9 ± 27.6 months, with a mean dose per infusion of 414.2 ± 158.1 (range, 200-800) mg. The mean infliximab infusion time prior to the study was 2.2 ± 0.4 h. A total of 6 (17.6%) patients received premedication. The premedication was suspended. There were no adverse effects during or after infusion. Ninety-seven percent of the patients and 100% of the health workers were satisfied with the accelerated infusion. CONCLUSION: Our data support the safe use of accelerated infliximab infusion in rheumatic patients, with high satisfaction among patients and health workers.

The use of bisphosphonate in the treatment of avascular necrosis: a systematic review.

Up to now, there is no uniformly accepted treatment for avascular necrosis (AN) that alleviates pain and retards its progression. The aim of clinical and surgical treatments is usually only to improve blood support in the avascular area. The objective of the present study was to make a systematic review of the use of bisphosphonates in the treatment of AN. Studies in which bisphosphonate was used for the treatment of AN were researched through the MEDLINE databases (from 1966 to 2007) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and using the following terms: "avascular necrosis," "aseptic necrosis," "bisphosphonates," "alendronate," "pamidronate," "zoledronate," and "risedronate". Only seven articles that met the previously established criteria were obtained from MEDLINE, and none were obtained from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Of these seven articles, two were randomized clinical trials and five were prospective comparative studies; one of them corresponded to an extension of a previous study. The present review demonstrates that there are no controlled and double-blind studies about the efficacy of bisphosphonates in the treatment of AN. Therefore, the data are still insufficient for justifying its use for this indication. On the other hand, noncontrolled studies appear to demonstrate favorable results, particularly in diminishing pain, improving mobility, and lowering the incidence of articular collapse, which justifies new studies being developed in this area.