Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

The possibilities of modern therapy for rheumatic diseases (RD) have now significantly expanded, primarily due to the use of genetically engineered biological drugs (GIBP). The aim is to evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of BAs in patients with various RH. Material and methods. The study included all patients with RD who received BAs: rituximab (RTM), infliximab (INF), adalimumab, etanercept, tocilizumab, abatacept in 2009-2012. The efficacy and safety of the treatment was assessed after 6 months. Based on parameters specific to specific diseases (eg, BVAS, DAS28, BASDAI), the effect of BAI was defined as "remission", "improvement" and "no response". Results: The study included 107 patients (49 men and 58 women; mean age 41.5 years) with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 34), ANCA-associated vasculitis (n = 34), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 16), cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (n = 11), ankylosing spondyloarthritis (n = 8), systemic vasculitis with lesions of large arteries (n = 6) and other RH. In all cases, there was a severe course of systemic autoimmune disease refractory to standard immunosuppressive therapy. The most commonly used RTM (n = 66) and IFN (n = 31). The high frequency of prescribing RTM is explained by the fact that all patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and cryoglobulinemic vasculitis received this drug, which in total accounted for more than half of the patients included in the study. The overwhelming majority of them received GIBP for the first time. Against the background of treatment, remission was achieved in 62 cases (57.9%) and improvement in 42 (39.3%) cases. Mild or moderately expressed in 22 (20.6%) patients, severe adverse reactions in 6 (5.6%) patients. Conclusion: Treatment of BAI provides significant improvement in a significant proportion of patients with various RH who have not responded to standard immunosuppressive therapy.