Initiation of rheumatoid arthritis treatments and the risk of serious infections.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

In clinical trials of RA patients on traditional DMARDs, the addition of TNF-alpha antagonists increased infections compared with addition of placebo. Our objective was to compare serious infections following initiation of different RA regimens. Prior comparative studies of DMARD initiation have yielded conflicting results.

Methods

We estimated hospitalization rates for infections following initiation of TNF-alpha antagonists, other DMARDs and oral glucocorticoids in Tennessee Medicaid-enrolled RA patients (1995-2005). Exposure time was measured using pharmacy information and infections were identified using validated definitions. Initiation of RA regimens was compared using Cox regression models with MTX as the reference. Sensitivity analyses excluded glucocortico

SUBMITTER: Grijalva CG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2909794 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature