Are official reports sufficient? Official registration rates of patients with tuberculosis in Sivas, Middle Anatolia

Drugs which antagonize tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) are known to increase the risk of tuberculosis. We aimed to evaluate the risk of tuberculosis in patients treated with anti-TNF-alpha, in Turkey. Two hundred and forty patients receiving anti-TNF-alpha, from December 2005 to December 2007, were included in the study. All participants provided a history and underwent a physical examination, a chest X-ray, and a tuberculin skin test. Isoniazid treatment was initiated in those patients with a latent infection, and they were followed up at 2-month intervals. A Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) scar was present in 184 patients (77.6%). The mean tuberculin skin test induration of patients on admission was 10.7+/-7.0 mm. Male gender and the presence of a BCG scar were predictors of a higher tuberculin skin test result (P<0.05), while there was no significant effect of age on the tuberculin skin test (P>0.05). Of the 240 subjects, 229 (95.4%) received methotrexate or corticosteroid treatment prior to anti-TNF-alpha therapy. Isoniazid treatment preceded anti-TNF-alpha administration in 185 (77.1%) of the 240 patients. Two patients developed tuberculosis (incidence 833/100,000). There was no correlation between initial and 12-month tuberculin skin test results (P>0.05). Tuberculin skin test conversion was detected in five subjects during the 12-month follow-up; however, none developed active tuberculosis. One patient developed a drug reaction secondary to etanercept, and another demonstrated hepatotoxicity due to isoniazid. This study shows that anti-TNF-alpha therapy increases the risk of tuberculosis, despite treatment of latent infection.

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Increased risk of tuberculosis in patients treated with antitumor necrosis factor alpha

Elbek

Uyar

Aydın

et al. 2008

Clin Rheumatol

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Anti-Tümör Nekroz Faktör Alfa Tedavisi ve Tüberkülin Cilt Testi

Bozkırlı¹,

Tufan²,

Özışık³

et al. 2015

Cukurova Medical Journal

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Purpose: The use of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF) drugs has been a milestone in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Despite their strong efficacy, there are some factors restricting the use of anti-TNF agents. We must be careful especially for the granulomatous diseases which can be seen endemic in our country such as tuberculosis and leishmaniasis. In our country according to the RAED 2005 Consensus Meeting Reports, patients candidate for anti-TNF treatment are evaluated for both active and inactive tuberculosis before treatment and prophylaxis with isoniazid (INH) has been performed where indicated. Material and Methods: Tuberculin skin tests (TST) of 43 patients followed up in the Rheumatology Clinic and receiving anti-TNF therapy were repeated under treatment. Patients' pretreatment first TST results, drugs they used, INH prophylaxis state, smoking status and the duration of anti-TNF treatment were evaluated. Results: 14 patients (32.6%) were women, while 29 (67.4%) were men. The mean of first TST values were 11.72±90.3 mm (0-30) and the mean of second TST values were 12.06±12.4 mm (0-45). 48.8% of the patients were smoking and 74.4% of the patients had received INH prophylaxis for 9 months. The mean total duration of anti-TNF drug use was found as 22.67±19.11 (5-68) months. No statistically significant difference (p=0.888) was observed between the first pretreatment and second under treatment TST results of the patients. Discussion: Tuberculosis remains to be a serious public health problem for both our country and the whole world. For this reason in our country, a detailed assessment is performed for all patients before anti-TNF treatment. In our study patients who are planned to start anti-TNF therapy were assessed with their first TST values and INH prophylaxis were given to 32 patients (74.4%) before treatment. No statistically significant difference was observed between pre and posttreatment TST values when control TST were performed with the earliest after five months of treatment. These findings may suggest that there is no evident increase in the risk of tuberculosis for patients receiving anti-TNF treatment with appropriate INH prophylaxis.

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Are official reports sufficient? Official registration rates of patients with tuberculosis in Sivas, Middle Anatolia

Cited by 2 publications

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Increased risk of tuberculosis in patients treated with antitumor necrosis factor alpha

Increased risk of tuberculosis in patients treated with antitumor necrosis factor alpha

Anti-Tümör Nekroz Faktör Alfa Tedavisi ve Tüberkülin Cilt Testi

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