Safety of infliximab in real clinical practice

A wide range of highly effective genetically engineered biological preparations introduced into clinical rheumatology in recent years causes a special interest in their safety. Purpose of the study. Evaluation of the safety of infliximab therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and methods. The authors' own data, which analyzed the undesirable effects of infliximab in 135 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in actual clinical practice, are presented. A case report of the adverse reaction of combination therapy with leflunomide and infliximab is presented. Results and its discussion. The overall tolerability of infliximab was satisfactory. Adverse events were observed in 28.1 % of cases, including 19.1 % of patients (14.1 %) had serious side effects that required discontinuation of the drug. Findings. In most cases, infliximab is safe for use in actual clinical practice. Patients should be informed about the risks of undesirable effects and the need for a rheumatologist's examination before each infliximab administration before prescribing therapy.