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Infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biologic agents.

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TLDR
Patients treated with biologic agents have a higher a priori risk of infection, however, the data suggest that this risk is increased by treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors.
Abstract
Objective To estimate the incidence rates of serious and nonserious infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who start treatment with a biologic agent, and to compare these rates with those in patients with RA who receive conventional treatment Methods Patients enrolled in the German biologics register between May 2001 and September 2003 were included Treating rheumatologists assessed adverse events and serious adverse events All adverse events and serious adverse events experienced within 12 months after study entry were analyzed Propensity score methods were applied to estimate which part of a rate increase was likely to be attributable to differences in patient characteristics Results Data were available for 512 patients receiving etanercept, 346 patients receiving infliximab, 70 patients receiving anakinra, and 601 control patients treated with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs The total number of adverse events per 100 patient-years was 226 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 187–272) among patients receiving etanercept, 283 (95% CI 231–347) among patients receiving infliximab, and 68 (95% CI 50–94) among controls (P < 00001) Significant differences in the rate of serious adverse events were also observed For patients receiving etanercept, those receiving infliximab, and controls, the total numbers of serious adverse events per 100 patient-years were 64 (95% CI 45–91), 62 (95% CI 40–95), and 23 (95% CI 13–39), respectively (P = 00016) After adjusting for differences in the case patient mix, the relative risks of serious adverse events were 22 (95% CI 09–54) for patients receiving etanercept and 21 (95% CI 08–55) for patients receiving infliximab, compared with controls Conclusion Patients treated with biologic agents have a higher a priori risk of infection However, our data suggest that this risk is increased by treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors

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Journal ArticleDOI

Anti-TNF Antibody Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Risk of Serious Infections and Malignancies: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Rare Harmful Effects in Randomized Controlled Trials

TL;DR: There is evidence of an increased risk of serious infections and a dose-dependent increasedrisk of malignancies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with anti-TNF antibody therapy.
Journal ArticleDOI

Tumor necrosis factor antagonist mechanisms of action: A comprehensive review

TL;DR: The biology of T NF and related family members are discussed in the context of the potential mechanisms of action of TNF antagonists in a variety of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
References
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Journal Article

Revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis.

TL;DR: The Bulletin on the Rheumatic Diseases has published all of the classification criteria for the rheumatic diseases to date, and these new revised classified criteria for rheumatoid arthritis are very important as they should provide understanding of the possibly changing face of rheumatism.
Journal ArticleDOI

Revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis.

TL;DR: The Bulletin on the Rheumatic Diseases has published all of the classification criteria for rheumatic diseases to date as mentioned in this paper, and these new revised classification criteria are very important as they should provide understanding of the possibly changing face of rheumatoid arthritis.
Journal ArticleDOI

Modified disease activity scores that include twenty-eight-joint counts : development and validation in a prospective longitudinal study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

TL;DR: The Modified DAS that included 28-joint counts were able to discriminate between high and low disease activity (as indicated by clinical decisions of rheumatologists) and are as valid as disease activity scores that include more comprehensive joint counts.
Journal ArticleDOI

Propensity score methods for bias reduction in the comparison of a treatment to a non‐randomized control group

TL;DR: The propensity score, defined as the conditional probability of being treated given the covariates, can be used to balance the variance of covariates in the two groups, and therefore reduce bias as mentioned in this paper.
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