This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Antimalarials may reduce the risk of infection in patients with SLE
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Investigators of this study found the use of antimalarials reduced the risk of serious infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
“Many patients with systemic lupus take hydroxychloroquine, which presents low risks of complications,” Lisa J. Herrinton, PhD, told Healio.com/Rheumatology. “The study strengthens the evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine may be beneficial for lowering the risk of infections.”
Using data from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Northern California, Herrinton and colleagues performed a new-user study and identified 3,030 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Investigators compared the risk for serious infections in patients with SLE who were either new users to glucocorticoids (GCs), antimalarials (AMs) or a combination of both therapies.
Lisa J. Herrinton
Results showed patients treated with GCs of no more than 15 mg/day had a hazard ratio (HR) for infection of 3.9 compared with patients who started with AMs without GCs; however, the HR was zero for patients treated with a combination of both treatments.
Investigators categorized the 14 patients who had serious infections and GC no more than 15 mg/day into two groups (<7.5 mg/day and ≥ 7.5 mg/day to 15 mg/day). Patients with less than 7.5 mg/day had an HR of 4.6 for serious infection and patients with at least 7.5 mg/day to 15 mg/day had an HR of 3.1.
According to researchers, the infection risk for patients who were started with greater than 15 mg/day of GCs was similar to that of patients treated with the combination of GCs and AMs and to patients treated with only GCs; although there was more evidence of severe disease in patients treated with a combination of GCs and AMs. Compared with the general population, patients with SLE had a six- to seven-fold higher chance for serious infection. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: The study was funded by AstraZeneca/Medimmune.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts