Survival rates of patients with autoimmune diseases have steadily improved. In addition to steroids, several kinds of immunosuppressive reagents have been developed, and the therapeutic protocols are well-designed. Therefore, the disease symptoms of the majority of autoimmune diseases can be controlled, and death due to autoimmune diseases themselves has dramatically waned. However, it remains an unsolved problem how to avoid the occurrence of serious infections, especially opportunistic infections. In cases of systemic lupus erythematosus, the major cause of death during the acute phase is serious infection, not active disease. 1 Moreover, several biologics have been applied to therapeutic strategies for autoimmune diseases, and risks for serious infections are increasing, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 2 Therefore, it is important to learn how to predict and prevent serious infections in order to achieve better clinical outcomes. Age, functional status, disease activity, comorbidities, previous infections and usage of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agents contribute to the risk of infections in RA patients. 3 Also, lymphopenia is a risk factor for increased infection and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia among patients with systemic autoimmune
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.