Safety of biologic and nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy in veterans with rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis B virus infection: a retrospective cohort study

We evaluated the safety of current treatment regimens for patients with RA and HBV in a large US cohort. We identified biologic and nonbiologic treatment episodes of RA patients using 1997 to 2011 national data from the US Veterans Health Administration. Eligible episodes had evidence of HBV infection (HBV surface antigen, HBV core antibody, HBV e-antibody and/or HBV DNA) and had a baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) <1.5 times the upper limit of laboratory normal within 90 days prior to initiation of a new biologic or nonbiologic DMARD. The main outcome of interest was hepatotoxicity,... Mehr ...