PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ajay Tambralli AU - Timothy Beukelman AU - Randy Quentin Cron AU - Matthew Laurence Stoll TI - Safety and Efficacy of Rituximab in Childhood-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Other Rheumatic Diseases AID - 10.3899/jrheum.140863 DP - 2015 Jan 15 TA - The Journal of Rheumatology PG - jrheum.140863 4099 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2015/01/07/jrheum.140863.short 4100 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2015/01/07/jrheum.140863.full AB - Objective Rituximab (RTX) has been used to treat many pediatric autoimmune conditions. We investigated the safety and efficacy of RTX in a variety of pediatric autoimmune diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Retrospective study of children treated with RTX. Effectiveness data was recorded for patients with at least 12 months of followup; safety data was recorded for all subjects. Results The study included 104 children; 50 had SLE. Improvements in corticosteroid dosage, physician’s global assessment of disease activity, and SLE-associated markers of disease activity were seen. The incidence of hospitalized infections was similar to previous studies of patients with childhood-onset SLE. Conclusion RTX can be safely administered to children and appears to contribute to decreased disease activity and steroid burden.