Article Name: Long-term efficacy and tolerability of TNFα inhibitors in the treatment of non-infectious ocular inflammation: an 8-year prospective surveillance study
What are the takeaway points from this article?
Biologics have steadily gained momentum for the treatment of many inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of Infliximab and Adalimumab, TNF-alpha inhibitors (TNFi), for treatment of non-infectious ocular inflammatory conditions such as uveitis and scleritis. This 8-year prospective study (2006-2014) of adults treated with TNFi’s for ≥ 1 year analyzed outcomes such as the sustained remission rate, relapse rate, reduction in use of oral prednisolone, rates of adverse events, and overall quality of life measures. There was a reduction in the use of corticosteroid therapy in 75% of patients and sustained remission was evident in the majority of patients (91%) supporting long-term TNFi therapy. However, 51% of individuals experienced at least one relapse of inflammation and 54% experienced at least one side effect that had been previously reported in other studies. Though there was promising use of TNFi long term for achieving remission, this study revealed that it is common to require in class switching at some point during treatment. Moreover, the side effects and rare adverse events of TNFi, support the need for broader treatment methods to manage non-infectious ocular inflammatory conditions.
Reference
Sharma SM, Damato E, Hinchcliffe AE, Andrews CD, Myint K, Lee R, et al. Long-term efficacy and tolerability of TNFα inhibitors in the treatment of non-infectious ocular inflammation: an 8-year prospective surveillance study. Br J Ophthalmol [Internet]. 2021 Sep 1 [cited 2021 Oct 9];105(9):1256–62. Available from:https://bjo.bmj.com/content/105/9/1256
Date Published: March 12, 2019
Summary By: Brooklyn Rawlyk
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