Unincreased risk of hospitalized infection under targeted therapies versus methotrexate in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective cohort study
Arthritis Res Ther. 2022 doi: 10.1186/s13075-022-02807-9
Retrospective, longitudinal, population-based study shows that despite an overall higher incidence of hospitalised infection (HI) in both elderly and older elderly patients compared to young patients, the risks of HI in patients exposed to targeted therapy versus MTX is not significantly increased.
As the overall population starts to age, the importance of safety data of elderly patients with RA has increased in clinical settings. Although infection is one of the primary concerns during treatment for RA in elderly patients, infection data of elderly patients with RA receiving targeted therapy (bDMARDs and JAKinibs) are still limited.
To help address this, Sakai, et al. used Japanese claims data to compare the risk of HI with targeted therapy, versus MTX therapy, among young, elderly, and older elderly patients with RA.
