Paradoxical adverse events of anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy for spondyloarthropathies: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: Several paradoxical adverse events (PAEs), e.g. IBDs, acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and psoriasis, have been described in patients taking anti-TNF drugs. This retrospective study aimed to describe the different PAEs that have occurred in a population of SpA patients treated with anti-TNF drugs, and to determine whether they are drug specific. METHODS: Since 2000, we have followed 296 patients with SpA [198 AS, 21 SpA associated with IBD (9 ulcerative colitis, 12 Crohn's disease) and 77 psoriatic arthritis] treated with at least one anti-TNF drug (infliximab, etanercept or adalimumab), and 112 SpA patients treated only with conventional DMARDs who served as controls. Considering the cumulative time of exposure to each anti-TNF agent, the frequencies of new-onset PAEs in exposed patients were calculated. RESULTS: Respective cumulative exposure times were 287, 290 and 62 patient-years for infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab. We observed the following PAEs: five psoriasis (three under infliximab and one with etanercept or adalimumab), three AAU (1/100 patient-years, all under etanercept) and four IBD (three under etanercept and one under infliximab). There was no significant association among any of these PAEs and a specific anti-TNF agent; nor significant difference in the overall PAEs among patients receiving anti-TNF drugs or controls (P = 0.303), the latter experiencing two psoriasis and three AAU. CONCLUSIONS: Undesirable side effects--IBD, AAU and psoriasis--may appear with anti-TNF drugs. Even if they are, a priori, paradoxical, no evidence supports any PAEs to be anti-TNF agent-specific in SpA.

Development of inflammatory bowel disease during anti-TNF-α therapy for inflammatory rheumatic disease: a nationwide series.

OBJECTIVES: To describe cases of new onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease (IRD) receiving anti-TNF-α therapy. METHODS: A call for observations of such cases was sent to members of the French "Club rhumatismes et inflammation". Only patients without intestinal symptoms before introduction of anti TNF-α agents were included. RESULTS: During a 2-year period, 16 patients were declared: nine men and seven women, mean age 41.5 ± 17.4 years, 12 patients with ankylosing spondylitis, one with rheumatoid arthritis, one with psoriatic arthritis and two juvenile idiopathic arthritis with enthesitis related arthritis. Overall, 14 patients received etanercept and two had infliximab. The meantime frame between onsets of anti-TNF--α drugs and development of IBD was 29.3 ± 20.1 months. According to endoscopic and histological findings, IBD was classified as typical Crohn's disease in eight cases, Crohn's-like disease in six cases, indeterminate in one case and definite ulcerative colitis in one case. For all cases, each TNF-α blocking agent was discontinued and replaced by another monoclonal anti TNF-α antibody. After a mean follow up period of 23.4 ± 19.5 months, outcome was favorable without recurrent or flaring IBD. CONCLUSIONS: Paradoxical IBD may occur during anti TNF-α therapy for inflammatory rheumatic disease, mostly in patients with spondylarthropathies while receiving etanercept, at a frequency estimated to 0.15% in the French patients with spondylarthropathies exposed to TNF-α antagonists. The IBD mainly corresponded to Crohn's or Crohn's-like disease. On the contrary, new onset IBD is less frequently observed in other cases of IRD and with other TNF--α blockers.