scholarly journals A rare case of tuberculosis-induced hypercalcemia

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-474
Author(s):  
Loris Wauthier ◽  
Xavier Theunssens ◽  
Patrick Durez ◽  
Catherine Fillée ◽  
Diane Maisin ◽  
...  

Laboratory investigations of hypercalcemia involve testing of various biochemical parameters such as parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-(OH) Vitamin D (25-(OH) VitD), 1,25-(OH)2 Vitamin D3 (calcitriol) and PTH related peptide (PTHrp). We herein present an atypical case of severe hypercalcemia in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis who has been treated for years by various biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and suddenly presented with general state alteration, oedema and ulceration of her right ankle. We illustrate how tuberculosis (TB) can cause high calcitriol concentration and subsequently lead to potentially severe hypercalcemia. Moreover, we highlight the importance of TB testing and follow-up in patients treated with biological DMARDs.

Author(s):  
Jorge Enrique Machado-Alba ◽  
Manuel E. Machado-Duque ◽  
Andres Gaviria-Mendoza ◽  
Juan Manuel Reyes ◽  
Natalia Castaño Gamboa

Abstract Introduction/objectives The objective of this study is to describe the treatment patterns and use of healthcare resources in a cohort of Colombian patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or tofacitinib. Method This is a descriptive study from a retrospective cohort of patients diagnosed with RA who were treated with bDMARDs or tofacitinib after failure of conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs) or first bDMARD. Patients who were receiving pharmacological treatment between 01 January 2014 and 30 June 2018 were included. The analysis is through the revision of claim database and electronical medical records. Demographic and clinical data were collected. The costs of healthcare resources were estimated from the billing expense of healthcare service provider. Results We evaluated 588 RA patients on treatment with bDMARDs (n = 505) or tofacitinib (n = 83), most of them were in combination with cDMARDs (85.4%). The 88.1% were females and mean age was 57.3 ± 12.5 years. The median evolution of RA since diagnosis was 9 years (IQR:4–17.2). The mean duration of use during follow-up of the bDMARDs or tofacitinib was similar, with a mean of 9.8 ± 1.9 months. It was identified that 394 (67.0%) discontinued therapy. The average annual direct cost of care per patient was USD 8997 ± 2172, where 97.2% was due to drug costs. The average annual cost of treatment per patient with bDMARDs was USD 8604 and tofacitinib was USD 6377. Conclusions In the face of a first failure of cDMARD, bDMARDs are frequently added. A high frequency of patients do not persist treatment during the first year of follow-up. The pharmacological treatment is the most representative cause of healthcare costs. Key Points• Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease with a high burden of comorbidities, complications, and worse health-related quality of life and is associated with elevated healthcare costs.• The biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or tofacitinib medications are indicated for those with significant progression of the disease and when there is a need for alternatives to achieve low levels of activity and remission.• Patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or tofacitinib represent a significant economic burden to the health system, especially in the costs derived from pharmacological treatment.


2019 ◽  
pp. 20-23
Author(s):  
Xaviar Michael Jones ◽  
Mariano Montiel Bertone ◽  
Verónica Gabriela Savio ◽  
Marina Laura Werner ◽  
Ingrid Strusberg

The therapeutic approach of patients with two or more autoimmune diseases is quite a challenge, especially when the treatment of one of them, can precipitate the progression of the other. Even though the association of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is rare; when both coexist, the use of methotrexate and other hepatotoxic drugs should be used with caution. With a most widespread indication of biologic disease- modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) some reports of patients with RA and PBC treated with etanercept, infliximab, rituximab, tocilizumab and abatacept have been published. We report a case series that includes 4 patients with RA and PBC treated with bDMARDs. This is the first report to describe two cases in which golimumab was used to control RA and the second to report patients who received adalimumab and abatacept. Three cases of patients treated with rituximab have been published to date. None of the patients of our report suffered a progression of their PBC; matter in fact, two of them showed an improvement in their biochemical parameters. PBC symptoms did not get worse in any of the patients. On the contrary, laboratory parameters improved in two of the four patients.


Author(s):  
Chung‐Yuan Hsu ◽  
Yu‐Jih Su ◽  
Jia‐Feng Chen ◽  
Chi‐Chin Sun ◽  
Tien‐Tsai Cheng ◽  
...  

Background Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It is believed that using disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to control inflammation can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we investigated whether patients who responded differently to DMARDs might sustain different cardiovascular events. Methods and Results We designed a cohort study using the Chang Gung Research Database. We identified 7114 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. After strict exclusion criteria, we collected 663 individuals as an inadequate response to DMARDs group. Then, 2034 individuals were included as the control group. The end point was composite vascular outcomes, including acute coronary syndrome or ischemic stroke. We used the inverse probability of treatment weighting to keep the covariates between these 2 groups well balanced. We compared the risk of these outcomes using the Cox proportional hazards model. The mean follow‐up time was 4.7 years. During follow‐up, there were 7.5% and 6.4% of patients with composite vascular outcomes in the DMARD‐inadequate response and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in the risk of composite vascular outcomes (95% CI, 0.94–1.41) and ischemic stroke (95% CI, 0.84–1.36). The risk of acute coronary syndrome was significantly higher in the DMARD‐inadequate response group (hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.02–2.05). Conclusions Patients with DMARD‐inadequate response rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of developing acute coronary syndrome than those whose disease can be controlled by DMARDs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 99-100
Author(s):  
J. Klotsche ◽  
A. Klein ◽  
M. Niewerth ◽  
T. Kallinich ◽  
D. Windschall ◽  
...  

Background:Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) associated uveitis is an extra-articular manifestation of the JIA disease that may cause vision-threatening complications and an uncontrolled uveitis may even lead to blindness. Uveitis occurs in up to 20% of patients with JIA, depending on the JIA category. The majority of patients develop uveitis within the first two years after JIA symptom onset, but uveitis can continue into adulthood.Objectives:The main objective of this study was to analyze the risk for uveitis events after discontinuing disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) in patients with extended oligoarthritis and rheumatoid factor (RF)-negative polyarthritis.Methods:Data of the two ongoing multicenter biologic registers: German Biologics in Pediatric Rheumatology (BiKeR) and the Juvenile arthritis Methotrexate/Biologics long-term Observation (JuMBO) were used to analyze the adverse-event (AE) and events of special interest (ESI) reports about uveitis events during treatment and after discontinuation of DMARDs. Biker started recruitment of children and adolescent patients with JIA exposed to biological (b) or conventional (cs) DMARD’s in 2001. The patients were further followed in JuMBO after reaching the age of 18 or transitioning to an adult rheumatologist. Disease characteristics, treatment data, AE’s and ESI’s were reported by the pediatric or adults rheumatologist, respectively.Results:A total of 2,041 patients with RF-negative polyarthritis (n=1,280) or extended oligoarthritis (n=761) were included into the analyses. The mean follow-up of this study was 7.6 years (SD 5.3). About half of the patients were enrolled in BiKeR with start of etanercept (1,137, 55.7%), followed by 635 (31.1%) patients with start of methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy or adalimumab (ADA, n=198, 9.7%). A history of uveitis was reported for 238 (11.7%) patients at enrolment in BiKeR. More patients with a history of uveitis treated with ADA were included in BiKeR initiating ADA (n=98 of 238, 41.2%). Patients with uveitis had a lower age at JIA onset in comparison to patients without uveitis (mean 3.6 (SD 3.0) versus 7.0 (SD 4.5) years). A total of 142 recurrent (84% of 169) uveitis events were reported in 93 patients and for 27 patients (1.3% of 2,041) was an incident uveitis reported during follow-up. More than one uveitis event was reported for 32 patients with a maximum number of 4 uveitis flares in 3 patients. Nineteen uveitis flares (11.2% of 169) were reported for patients after the age of 18. The longer the time since DMARD discontinuation the fewer uveitis events occurred. Uveitis events were significantly more often reported in the first 24 months after MTX discontinuation (<6 months: OR=3.19, 95%CI: 1.70 to 5.96; 6 to <12 months: OR=2.06, 95%CI: 1.01 to 4.66; 12 to <24 months: OR=2.20, 95%CI: 1.14 to 4.25) and in the first three months after biological DMARD discontinuation (OR=5.4, 95%CI: 1.56 to 18.33). Patients with a MTX dose of ≤ 10 mg/m2 at last MTX intake had a higher likelihood for uveitis events (OR=1.40, 95%CI: 1.02 to 1.92).Conclusion:This is the first study that analyzed the risk of uveitis after DMARD withdrawal. Uveitis relapses are common. Patients who discontinued DMARD therapy were at high risk for uveitis within the first 3 to 24 months after discontinuation. Rheumatologists and ophthalmologists should be aware about this risk which should lead to a regular uveitis screening after DMARD withdrawal.Disclosure of Interests:Jens Klotsche: None declared, Ariane Klein: None declared, Martina Niewerth: None declared, Tilmann Kallinich: None declared, Daniel Windschall: None declared, Johannes-Peter Haas: None declared, Frank Weller-Heinemann Speakers bureau: Pfizer, Abbvie, SOBI, Roche, Novartis, Toni Hospach: None declared, Frank Dressler: None declared, Kirsten Minden: None declared, Gerd Horneff: None declared


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1388.2-1388
Author(s):  
R. Hassan ◽  
M. Cheikh ◽  
H. Almoallim ◽  
H. Faruqui ◽  
R. Alquraa ◽  
...  

Background:National Registries are essential to direct current practice and design appropriate management strategies1. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) registries in the middle east and north Africa remain scarcely represented2.Objectives:Our objective is to describe the Saudi RA population and to compare the findings to internationally reported data.Methods:This is a cross sectional, analytical study that was conducted at Doctor Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH). The study ran from December of 2014 and concluded in December of 2018 using a pool of 433 patients. Inclusion criteria included adults older than 18 years of age who fulfilled the 2010 American College of Rheumatology criteria for diagnosis of RA3. Data were collected from patients and entered in a specially designed program for this registry. They included main demographic details,, lag times to final disease diagnosis. Disease Activity Score-28-C Reactive Protein (DAS-28-CRP) was calculated on presentation and on subsequent visits with intervals ranging from three to six months between them. Multiple regression model was used to assess the predictors of disease activity. We charted the lines of medications given, including conventional and biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), following treat to target strategies4.Results:Out of 430 patients, 76.68% were female, while only 23.32% were male and the mean age was found to be 49.26 years with SD±11.At initial presentation, 45.5% had demonstrated active disease (moderate or high disease activity) based on DAS-28-CRP scores while 54.5% were in remission or low disease activity. Out of the total number of clinic visitors, 330 had regular follow ups for more than 1 year while 103 patients were either irregularly visiting the rheumatology clinic or had lost follow up. The remission rates after 1 year had increased to 79.7% (263 patients), while 9.7% (32 patients) had low disease activity and no patients had sustained high disease activity at the end of follow up. It was also found that the female gender, higher Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) and a longer lag1/lag2 period were associated with higher disease activity in our population. Biologic medications had been used by 129 patients (29.7%) while conventional DMARDs were given to 304 patients (70.3%).Conclusion:We described a population of RA patients in a single center in SA. We detected higher remission rates at one year of follow up. This could be attributed to many factors, including good referral systems and treat to target strategies with easier access to biologic medications.References:[1]Singh JA, Saag KG, Bridges SL Jr, Akl EA, Bannuru RR, Sullivan MC, Vaysbrot E, McNaughton C, Osani M, Shmerling RH, Curtis JR, Furst DE, Parks D, Kavanaugh A, O’Dell J, King C, Leong A, Matteson EL, Schousboe JT, Drevlow B, Ginsberg S, Grober J, St Clair EW, Tindall E, Miller AS, McAlindon T. 2015 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.Arthritis Rheumatol.2016 Jan;68(1):1-26.[2]Smolen, Josef S., et al. “EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2013 update.”Annals of the rheumatic diseases73.3 (2014): 492-509.[3]Saag KG, Teng GG, Patkar NM, Anuntiyo J, Finney C, Curtis JR, et al. American College of Rheumatology 2008 recommendations for the use of nonbiologic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis.Arthritis Rheum2008;59: 762–84.[4]Hussain W, Noorwali A, Janoudi N. From symptoms to diagnosis: an observational study of the journey of rheumatoid arthritis patients in Saudi Arabia.Oman Med J.2016;31(1):29.Disclosure of Interests:Rola Hassan Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Mohamed Cheikh Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Hani Almoallim Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Hanan Faruqui Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Reem AlQuraa Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Ayman Eissa Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Aous Alhazmi Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals, Nahid Janoudi Grant/research support from: Pfizer pharmaceuticals


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Suiyuan Hu ◽  
Chu Lin ◽  
Xiaoling Cai ◽  
Xingyun Zhu ◽  
Fang Lv ◽  
...  

Objective. To assess the association between the use of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with systemic inflammatory conditions. Methods. Eligible cohort studies or randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to January 2021 were included. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cardiovascular outcomes were calculated in the fixed- and random-effects model accordingly. Associated factors with risks of cardiovascular events were also studied in sensitivity analyses and metaregression analyses. Results. Compared with non-bDMARD users, the risks of myocardial infarction (MI) ( OR = 0.74 , 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.87), heart failure ( OR = 0.84 , 95% CI, 0.74 to 0.95), cardiovascular (CV) death ( OR = 0.62 , 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.95), all-cause mortality ( OR = 0.64 , 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.70), and 3P-MACE (composite endpoint of MI, stroke, and CV death) ( OR = 0.69 , 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.89) were significantly reduced in bDMARD users, which were mainly driven by the risk reduction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). TNF-α inhibitors exhibited consistent benefits in reducing the risks of MI, heart failure, CV death, all-cause mortality, and 3P-MACE. Moreover, the risks of heart failure, CV death, all-cause mortality, and 3P-MACE were significantly reduced in bDMARD users with follow-up over one year. Conclusions. The use of bDMARDs might be associated with the reduced risks of CV events, especially in patients with RA. The CV events might be less frequent in bDMARD users with TNF-α inhibitors or follow-up over one year. More investigations are needed to validate conclusions.


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1888-1888
Author(s):  
Gregory Sampang Calip ◽  
Karen Sweiss ◽  
Sruthi Adimadhyam ◽  
Alemseged Ayele Asfaw ◽  
Jifang Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are used more frequently and earlier in the course of rheumatologic conditions in a treat-to-target approach. These medications act on proteins and cytokines with potential pro- and anti-malignancy roles, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), human interleukin (IL) receptors and B- and T-cell functions. There is concern for hematologic malignancy with some but not all biologic DMARDs. Little is known about possible associations between these medications and development of multiple myeloma (MM). Our purpose was to determine risk of MM in relation to biologic DMARD treatment, duration of use and by biologic target in a large cohort of patients with rheumatologic conditions. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study within a cohort of adults undergoing active treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Patients were sampled from a population of commercially-insured U.S. health plan enrollees in the Truven Health MarketScan Research Database between 2009 and 2015. MM cases were ascertained using validated algorithms for administrative data. Up to ten controls from the overall cohort were matched to each MM case on age, sex and rheumatologic indication using incidence density sampling with replacement. Index date was defined as the date of MM diagnosis for a case and corresponding time at-risk for matched controls. Exposure was defined as both treatment and duration of biologic DMARD use including TNF inhibitor (etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, golimumab, certolizumab pegol), IL-6 receptor antagonist (tocilizumab), T-cell targeted (abatacept) and B-cell depleting (rituximab) agents and were determined from health claims and pharmacy dispensing data. Data on rheumatologic indication, comorbid conditions and treatment with prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids and conventional synthetic DMARDs (hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, methotrexate, leflunomide) were documented in the 12 month baseline period and during follow up as potential confounders. An exposure lag time of 365 days was used to minimize protopathic bias. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for risk of MM associated with biologic DMARDs. RESULTS: From a retrospective cohort of 56866 adult patients with rheumatologic conditions, 287 MM cases and 2760 matched controls were identified. Compared to controls, a higher proportion of cases had Charlson comorbidity scores of 2 or greater (24% vs 18%) and used oral corticosteroids during follow up (67% vs 61%). Cases and controls were similar with respect to use of prescription NSAIDs (56% vs 59%) and use of conventional DMARDs (63% vs 67%). Use of biologic DMARDs overall was similar between cases and controls (14% vs 15%), although cases had a slightly lower proportion of etanercept users (5% vs 7%) and a slightly higher proportion of tocilizumab users (1.4% vs 0.4%). Biologic DMARD users were younger, more likely to have psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, lower comorbidity and greater use of concomitant NSAIDs and oral corticosteroids. Risk of MM was neither associated with biologic DMARD use overall (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.57, 1.26; P=0.40) nor with longer duration of biologic DMARD use (>2.5 years: OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.34, 1.52; P=0.39). However, compared to patients treated with only conventional DMARDs, those receiving concomitant conventional plus biologic DMARDs had a 48% lower risk of developing MM (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.30, 0.88; P=0.02). Associations with MM appeared to differ by specific biologic DMARD agent with estimates suggesting a lowered risk of MM with use of etanercept (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.30, 1.02; P=0.06) and greater risk with use of tocilizumab (OR 4.33; 95% CI 1.33, 14.19; P=0.02) that was statistically significant, although confidence intervals were wide. CONCLUSIONS: The potential influence of biologic DMARDs on multiple myeloma is complex. We found that immune suppression with conventional plus biologic DMARDs is inversely associated with MM risk in patients with rheumatologic conditions, but this association differed by biologic drug target. Further research is needed to understand the roles of DMARDs targeting TNF and IL-6 in relation to subsequent myeloma pathogenesis. Disclosures Patel: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria.


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