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The following is a summary of “Incidence and Risk of Infections in Patients With Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis Receiving Biologic Therapies: A Prospective Observational Study Using the KOBIO Registry,” published in the March 2025 issue of Journal of Rheumatology by Ko and Moon. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study on biologics to assess infection occurrence and risk factors in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA). 

They included patients with r-axSpA from the KOBIO registry who started or switched biologics between December 2012 and December 2023. They assessed the first infection occurrence by organ system and calculated infection rates per 1,000 person-years (PY) (95% CI) using the Poisson distribution. They used Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for confounders, to estimate hazard ratios for infection risk. 

The results showed 2,129 patients with 7,107.67 PY of follow-up. Respiratory tract infections were most common (25.89/1000 PY), followed by HZ (6.13/1000 PY). Significant risk factors included advanced age, ischemic heart disease (IHD), diabetes mellitus (DM) with complications, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and peripheral arthritis, while male sex was protective. 

Investigators observed an infection rate of 39.39 events/1,000 PY, with respiratory tract infections being the most common, followed by HZ. They identified advanced age, female sex, IHD, DM with complications, CKD, and peripheral arthritis as significant risk factors.

Source: jrheum.org/content/52/3/234