Incident and Recurrent Herpes Zoster for First-Line bDMARD and tsDMARD Users in Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Herpes zoster (HZ) risk is significantly increased in seropositive RA patients with a history of HZ after the initiation of bDMARDs or tsDMARD.

It is now well known that the incidence and recurrence of HZ are quite common in patients with RA in real-world clinical settings, yet there is limited evidence regarding bDMARD-dependent HZ risk among patients with a history of HZ prior to bDMARD use.

As such, Jeong, et al. used data from the Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service database to explore the associations of first-line bDMARD with overall, incident, and recurrent HZ risks among patients with RA, during the first bDMARD treatment.