Efficacy and safety of reducing duration of infliximab infusion

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of reducing the duration of infliximab infusion for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment.

Methods. The first 6 infliximab infusions were each administered over a 2-h period. If no adverse reaction was observed, infusion times were shortened to 1 h starting with the seventh infusion with further shortening to 30 min starting with the thirteenth infusion. Subjects were divided into two groups: shortened infusion time group, in which infusion times were shortened as above; and constant infusion time group, in which infusion time was 2 h. Incidence of infusion reactions and improvement in disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS-28) erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) for total infusions were compared for the seventh to twelfth and thirteenth to eighteenth infusions.

Results. The incidences of infusion reactions after the seventh to twelfth and thirteenth to eighteenth infusions in the shortened infusion time group were 0.53% and 0.58%, respectively. In the constant infusion time group, these were 0.70% and 0.67%, respectively. Furthermore, shortening the infusion duration did not affect the DAS-28 (ESR) improvement rate.

Conclusions. We established that this stage-wise shortening of infusion duration, first to 1 h and then to 30 min, did not compromise the safety or efficacy of treatment.

Keywords:

• Infliximab
• Infusion reaction
• Shortened infusion times
• 1 h
• 30 min

Acknowledgement

The authors thank all medical staff in all institutions for providing the data.

Funding

The series of studies were also supported in part by a Research Grant- In-Aid for Scientific Research by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan.

Conflict of interest

Tanaka Y has received consulting fees, speaking fees, and/or honoraria from Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Abbott Japan Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Pfizer Japan Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., Daiichi-Sankyo Co., Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline K.K., Astra-Zeneca, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Actelion Pharmaceuticals Japan Ltd., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd., UCB Japan Co., Ltd., Quintiles Transnational Japan Co. Ltd., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Novartis Pharma K.K. and has received research grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD K.K., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Astellas Pharma Inc., Abbott Japan Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd. and Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.