Josselin L et al. - These results suggest that infliximab is a potentially useful and safe salvage therapy for patients with refractory systemic necrotizing vasculitides (SNV). Methods
Objective was to report the experience of using infliximab in treating the refractory SNV, focusing on the pts’ longer-term outcomes
The medical charts of pts given adjunctive infliximab >=2 yrs before this evaluation were reviewed retrospectively
Results
15 pts (median age: 46 yrs); median f/u: 35 mos
10 pts with Wegener’s granulomatosis, 1 microscopic polyangiitis, 3 RA-associated and 1 cryoglobulinemia-related vasculitides
Median time on infliximab was 8 mos
By day 45, 11 pts had entered remission and 4 others had responded
5 pts achieved sustained remissions
13 stopped infliximab because of loss of efficacy (n=4), remission (n=6), or non-compliance, chest tightness or side effect (1 each)
10 pts relapsed, 3 while still receiving infliximab; 2 were successfully retreated with infliximab
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