Safety of rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that requires long-term administration of immunomodulatory drugs with a greater risk of side effects like malignancies, serious infections and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, patients with RA are more prone than the general population to these manifestations. Safety of rituximab has been evaluated in the short-term (6 months) and in the medium-term (up to 10 years) in patients who had been previously treated with antagonists of tumor necrosis factor (a-TNF) and/or with methotrexate (MTX) and in patients who were not. Data obtained from clinical trials demonstrated that rituximab is well tolerated either after a single course or after multiple courses. The overall rate of adverse events (AEs) was stable after the first three courses. The most frequent adverse event was infusion-related reactions (IRR). Serious infections did not increase after multiple courses. Data from "real life" confirm that treatment with rituximab is well tolerated.
Covelli
M
M
Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico, DIMIMP-Sezione di Reumatologia, Università degli Studi di Bari, Italy. michelecovelli@virgilio.it
Sarzi-Puttini
P
P
Atzeni
F
F
Macchioni
P
P
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D000069283:Rituximab; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab