Risk of serious infection in biological treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Serious infections are a major concern for patients considering treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. Evidence is inconsistent as to whether biological drugs are associated with an increased risk of serious infection compared with traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of serious infections in patients treated with biological drugs compared with those treated with traditional DMARDs.

Methods

We did a systematic literature search with Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov from their inception to Feb 11, 2014. Search terms included "biologics", "rheumatoid arthritis" and their synonyms. Trials were eligible for inclusion if they included any of the appr

SUBMITTER: Singh JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4580232 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature