Full Text of PDF (605k)
Article in Japanese
Abstract
Case Report
Four cases of rheumatoid arthritis with pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex infection treated with biological agents
Rie Kurashige Yumi Sakakibara Haruhiko Furusawa Toshihide Fujie Yasunari Miyazaki Naohiko Inase
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University
ABSTRACT
We report four cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with a pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (pMAC) infection that were treated with biological agents, which were needed for the treatment of RA. In two of the four cases we had withdrawn the biological agents when the patients developed pMAC; however, subsequently we resumed treatment with biological agents after confirming that the pMAC was sufficiently stable. In the other two cases we administered biological agents after the diagnosis of pMAC. One of the four cases received standard anti-pMAC therapy. Because none of the cases experienced an exacerbation in pMAC during its clinical course, this case series suggests that biological agents may be a potential treatment option in cases of RA with pMAC in which few factors indicating a poor prognosis for the pMAC are observed.
KEYWORDS
Rheumatoid arthritis Biological agent
Received 28 Sep 2017 ／ Accepted 19 Feb 2018
AJRS, 7(3): 161-165, 2018
Copyright © The Japanese Respiratory Society All Rights Reserved.