Eight-year survival study of first-line tumour necrosis factor α inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis: real-world data from a university centre registry.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy, safety and survival of TNF-α inhibitors in patients with RA. METHODS: A total of 178 patients >18 years of age were treated with TNF-α inhibitors. A total of 74 patients were treated with infliximab, 75 with adalimumab and 29 with etanercept. Each patient was followed-up for a period of 8 years. RESULTS: Anti-TNF-α therapy resulted in rapid clinical improvement. The rate of good/moderate response according to EULAR response criteria for the index 28-joint DAS with CRP in the first 6 months was 82% for infliximab, 89.6% for adalimumab and 95.6% for etanercept. The rate of withdrawal in 8 years was 80% for patients on infliximab, 61.4% for patients on adalimumab and 47.6% for patients on etanercept. The main reasons for discontinuation were allergic reactions for infliximab (rate of discontinuation 25.7%) and inefficacy for adalimumab and etanercept (17.5% and 23.8%, respectively). Systemic allergic reactions and infections were significantly more frequent in the infliximab group (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). However, there was no significant difference among the three drugs concerning serious infections. According to Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, a significantly faster withdrawal for infliximab patients was depicted compared with adalimumab (P = 0.003) and etanercept (P = 0.019), while adalimumab and etanercept were not statistically different (P = 0.089). CONCLUSIONS: TNF-α inhibitors establish an effective therapeutic option in RA showing an acceptable safety profile. Infections and allergic reactions appear more often with infliximab, while serious infections did not differ among them. RA patients treated with infliximab are more likely to discontinue treatment earlier compared with the other alternatives.

Epidemiological characteristics of psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a specific form of inflammatory arthritis associated with skin psoriasis. PsA makes part of a heterogeneous group of arthritides called the spondyloarthropathies. Several studies regarding the prevalence and incidence of PsA have been published during the last decades, showing a considerable variation of the disease occurrence among different populations. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent observations of epidemiological features for PsA patients. Thus, the literature was reviewed until May 2018 for studies regarding PsA epidemiology, classification criteria and risk factors for PsA development. Systematic reviews based on the international bibliography, are reporting the prevalence of the disease from 1/100.000 inhabitants in Japan to as high as 420/100.000 inhabitants in Italy. The annual incidence also varies, ranging from 1 to 23/100.000 inhabitants, while the average incidence rate is 6.5 cases/100.000 inhabitants. The random effect pooled PsA prevalence and incidence rates are 133/100.000 and 83/100.000 subjects respectively. Thus, a large heterogeneity between studies is observed. This variability could be explained by a number of factors such as the use of multiple and different classification criteria in the studies. Geographical variations are also observed regarding disease occurrence. Differences were found not only between different continents, but also within the same geographic regions. This could be explained by the different genetic background especially the distribution of the human leucocyte antigens. In addition, other factors such as environmental (infections, climate, sun exposure), dietary habits (fish oil consumption, Mediterranean diet) or life style habits (obesity, smoking), could explain the geographic variability in the prevalence estimates. The implementation of unanimous classification criteria and the conformation by the scientific community could lead to a better understanding of the disease epidemiology.

Tuberculous pyomyositis in a rheumatoid arthritis patient treated with anakinra.

Musculoskeletal tuberculosis (TB) occurs in only 3% of patients with TB while tuberculous pyomyositis is rare. It usually affects immunocompromised or patients with underlying comorbidities. We present a case of tuberculous pyomyositis in a 85-year-old Caucasian patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with steroids and anakinra. The patient presented with fever as well as redness, swelling and induration on the lateral side of the hip and thigh. Under ultrasound guidance fluid collection of the thigh was aspirated. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cultures of the fluid were positive for Mycobacterium TB. The patient underwent bronchoscopy. PCR and cultures from the bronchoalveolar lavage were also positive for Mycobacterium TB. The patient was treated with anti TB treatment with amelioration of the inflammation in the hip and thigh. This is the first reported case of tuberculous pyomyositis in a RA patient treated with anakinra.