Tumour necrosis factor   antagonists and early postoperative complications in patients with inflammatory joint disease undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery

Tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) antagonists are now established as therapeutic agents for active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) resistant to conventional drug treatment. 1 However, they decrease resistance to infection, including unusual infections such as tuberculosis, 2, 3 and in an experimental sett...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of the rheumatic diseases 2005-04, Vol.64 (4), p.650-651
Main Author: Talwalkar, S C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Gangrene
Hip joint
Infections
Joint replacement surgery
Patients
Postoperative period
Surgical outcomes
Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
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Summary:Tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) antagonists are now established as therapeutic agents for active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) resistant to conventional drug treatment. 1 However, they decrease resistance to infection, including unusual infections such as tuberculosis, 2, 3 and in an experimental setting have been shown to impair wound healing. 4 Previous studies have shown that TNFα antagonists do not increase the risk of postoperative surgical complications in patients with Crohn's disease who undergo resective bowel surgery, 5, 6 but the safety of these drugs in patients with RA who undergo elective orthopaedic surgery has not yet been established. [...]in this small study there is no evidence that anti-TNF drug treatment, whether discontinued or continued, increased either the rate of infection or the complication rate.
ISSN:0003-4967
1468-2060
DOI:10.1136/ard.2004.028365