Infection Risks in DMARD Treatments

This chapter examines the risk of serious infections linked to biologics and targeted synthetic DMARDs, revealing that treatments like rituximab and JAK inhibitors carry higher risks compared to anti-TNF agents. It highlights the need for careful clinical decision-making regarding drug usage order and discusses the differences in treatment responses between bio-naive and bio-experienced patients. The chapter also emphasizes monitoring patient outcomes and the implications of treatment intensification versus maintenance therapy in managing patients with low disease activity.