Risk of Serious Infection in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Patients Associated With Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors and Disease Activity in the German Biologics in Pediatric Rheumatology Registry

Objective.Using administrative data from a large commercial US health insurer, we investigated temporal trends in medication use among children diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).Methods.Children with ≥ 1 physician diagnosis code for JIA in the calendar years 2005 through 2012 were included. Use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), methotrexate (MTX), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), and oral glucocorticoids (GC) was determined. Temporal changes in medication usage were evaluated with the Cochran-Armitage test for trend. We used paired t-tests to evaluate the use of NSAID and GC in the 6 months before and after new TNFi use.Results.We identified 4261 unique individuals with JIA. The proportion of patients receiving TNFi increased from 8.7% in 2005 to 22.4% in 2012 (p < 0.0001). MTX use increased from 18.4% to 23.2% (p = 0.02). NSAID use decreased from 49% to 40% (p = 0.02). GC use was relatively unchanged. Following new TNFi use, the mean number of NSAID prescriptions (among prevalent users) decreased from 2.8 to 2.0 (p < 0.0001), and the mean daily GC dose (among prevalent users) decreased from 7.3 mg/day to 3.9 mg/day (p < 0.0001). Many new TNFi users (57%) had not used MTX in the previous 6 months, and only 37% had any concurrent MTX use in the 6 months following new TNFi use.Conclusion.TNFi use in the treatment of JIA increased 2- to 3-fold over the last 8 years. New TNFi use was associated with decreased NSAID and GC use. TNFi may be replacing, rather than complementing, MTX in the treatment of many patients.

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Tumor Necrosis Factor-α −308 Genotypes Influence Inflammatory Activity and TNF-α Serum Concentrations in Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

The Journal of Rheumatology ◽

10.3899/jrheum.080615 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 837-842 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

ANA FILIPA MOURÃO ◽

JOANA CAETANO-LOPES ◽

PAULA COSTA ◽

HELENA CANHÃO ◽

MARIA JOSÉ SANTOS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis ◽

Tumor Necrosis Factor ◽

Disease Activity ◽

Tumor Necrosis ◽

Tumor Necrosis Factor Α ◽

Inflammatory Activity ◽

Serum Concentrations ◽

Tnf Α ◽

Factor Α ◽

Necrosis Factor

Objective.Considering the relevance of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the pathophysiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), it is likely that polymorphisms in its promoter area may be relevant in disease susceptibility and activity. We investigated if clinical measures of JIA activity and TNF-α serum concentrations were associated with TNF-α −308 genotypes.Methods.Portuguese patients with JIA in 5 pediatric rheumatology centers were recruited consecutively, along with a control group of healthy subjects. Demographic and clinical data and blood samples were collected from each patient. DNA was extracted for analysis of TNF-α gene promoter polymorphisms at position −308 by restriction fragment-length polymorphism.Results.One hundred fourteen patients and 117 controls were evaluated; 57% of patients presented the oligoarticular subtype, 25% the polyarticular subtype, 8% the systemic subtype, and 9% had enthesitis-related arthritis and 5% psoriatic arthritis. Twenty-four percent of the patients presented the −308 GA/AA genotypes and 76% the −308 GG genotype, similar to findings in controls. Patients with the −308 GA/AA genotype had higher degree of functional impairment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 100-mm visual analog scale score for disease activity, and TNF-α levels compared to those with the −308 GG genotype.Conclusion.TNF-α −308 GA/AA genotypes were found to be related to higher inflammatory activity and worse measures of disease activity in Portuguese patients with JIA. They were not associated with susceptibility to JIA.

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