Incidence of Tuberculosis in Korean Patients w/RA: Effects of RA Itself & of Tumor-Necrosis-Factor Blockers

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Incidence of Tuberculosis in Korean Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA):

Effects of RA Itself and of Tumor-Necrosis-Factor Blockers

http://www.jrheum.com:80/abstracts/abstracts07/13/029.html

Objective. To elucidate the incidence rate and relative risk of tuberculosis

(TB) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in patients with RA

treated with tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF) blockers in Korea.

Methods. Using data from the Korean National Tuberculosis Association (KNTA)

as a control and data from a single-center cohort of patients with RA, we

conducted an evaluation of 1285 patients with RA not exposed to TNF blockers

and reviewed medical records of 90 and 103 patients with RA treated with

infliximab and etanercept, respectively, between 2001 and 2005.

Results. The mean incidence rate of TB, reported by the KNTA, was 67.2 per

100,000 person years (PY) from 2001 to 2004. In the TNF-blocker-naïve RA

cohort, 9 cases of TB developed during 3497 PY of followup (257 per

100,000). In the infliximab-treated RA group, 2 cases of TB developed during

78.17 PY of followup (2558 per 100,000 PY), and there was no case of TB

during 73.67 PY of followup in the etanercept-treated RA group. The risk of

TB was higher in RA patients not treated with TNF blockers, and in those

treated with infliximab compared with the general Korean population.

Conclusion. The risk of TB infection is 8.9-fold higher in Korean patients

with RA and 30.1-fold higher in RA patients treated with infliximab,

compared with the general Korean population. (J Rheumatol First Release Feb

15 2007)

From the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology and the

Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Hanyang University, Seoul; Department of

Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Konyang University, Daejeon;

and Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Hanyang University, Seoul,

Korea. Drs. Bae and Yoo were participants in the Brain Korea 21 Program.

Address reprint requests to Dr. S-C. Bae, Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases,

Hanyang University Medical Center, Seoul 133-792, Korea. E-mail:

scbae@...