A case report of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis complicated with Mycobacterium avium during tocilizumab treatment

Vol.21 No.6

Case Report

A case report of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis complicated with Mycobacterium avium during tocilizumab treatment

Authors

Hideko Nakahara¹ , Yosuke Kamide² , Yoshimasa Hamano¹ , Takashi Hosokawa¹ , Masayuki Nishide¹ , Yu Lin¹ , Keisuke Kawamoto¹ , Mie Fusama³ , Shinji Higa¹ , Takashi Kuroiwa⁴ , Tsuyoshi Igarashi¹ , Taro Kuritani¹, Keiji Maeda¹

Division of Allergy, Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, NTT West Osaka Hospital, 2-6-40 Karasugatsuji, Tennoji-ku, Osaka, 543-8922, Japan
Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-15 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan
Division of Nursing, NTT West Osaka Hospital, 2-6-40 Karasugatsuji, Tennoji-ku, Osaka, 543-8922, Japan
4. Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-15 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan

Received:

6 December 2010

Accepted:

17 March 2011

Published online:

12 April 2011

Full Text

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Abstract

A female patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffered from Mycobacterium avium (M. avium) infection during tocilizumab treatment. Tocilizumab was discontinued and she was treated with a recommended chemotherapy, resulting in improvement of M. avium. Tocilizumab retreatment did not aggravate M. avium infection, and radiographic abnormalities improved over 1 year after cessation of the recommended therapy. Tocilizumab may be one candidate for intractable RA patients with M. avium if any biologic is required.

Key words

Anti-IL-6 receptor antibody - Biologics - IL-6 - MAC - TNFα