RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Monitoring Biological Therapies in Psoriatic Arthritis
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 69
OP 70
DO 10.3899/jrheum.090230
VO 83
A1 ANTONIO SPADARO
A1 ROSSANA SCRIVO
A1 FRANCESCA ROMANA SPINELLI
A1 GUIDO VALESINI
YR 2009
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/83/69.abstract
AB Longterm use of tumor necrosis factor–α (TNF–α) blocking agents requires ongoing monitoring to confirm efficacy and to avoid drug toxicity. Epidemiologic studies may offer important complementary information about risks and benefits of this class of drugs. The safety profile of biologic therapies includes a wide spectrum of adverse events, of which the most relevant are risk of infections, malignancy, and cardiovascular diseases. The lack of published recommendations on monitoring suggests that clinicians must evaluate the patient for the risk or presence of any adverse events by regular checkups, with careful assessments, for their early detection. The safety profile in regard to psoriatic arthritis is discussed.