Adverse Effects: About 30% of patients develop rash with the first 1000-mg treatment; this incidence decreases to about 10% with the second infusion and progressively decreases with each course of therapy thereafter. These rashes do not usually require discontinuation of therapy, although an urticarial or anaphylactoid reaction precludes further therapy. Immunoglobulins (particularly IgG and IgM) may decrease with repeated courses of therapy and infections can occur, although they do not seem directly associated with the decreases in immunoglobulins. Serious, and sometimes fatal, bacterial, fungal, and viral infections are reported for up to 1 year of the last dose of rituximab, and patients with severe and active infections should not receive rituximab. Rituximab is associated with reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which requires monitoring before and several months after the initiation of the treatment. Rituximab has not been associated with either activation of tuberculosis or the occurrence of lymphomas or other tumors (see Chapter 55). Fatal mucocutaneous reactions have been reported in patients receiving rituximab. Different cytopenias can occur, which require complete blood cell monitoring every 2–4 months in RA patients. Other adverse effects, such as cardiovascular events, are rare.
1. Mechanism of Action: Sulfasalazine, a csDMARD, is metabolized to sulfapyridine and 5-aminosalicylic acid. The sulfapyridine is probably the active moiety when treating RA (unlike inflammatory bowel disease; see Chapter 62). Some authorities believe that the parent compound, sulfasalazine, also has an effect. Suppression of T-cell responses to concanavalin and inhibition of in vitro B-cell proliferation are documented. In vitro, sulfasalazine or its metabolites inhibit the release of inflammatory cytokines produced by monocytes or macrophages—eg, IL-1, -6, and -12, and TNF-α.
2.
Pharmacokinetics: Only 10–20% of orally administered sulfasalazine is absorbed, although a fraction undergoes enterohepatic recirculation into the bowel where it is reduced by intestinal bacteria to liberate sulfapyridine and 5-aminosalicylic acid (see Figure 62–8). Sulfapyridine is well absorbed while 5-aminosalicylic acid remains unabsorbed. Some sulfasalazine is excreted unchanged in the urine whereas sulfapyridine is excreted after hepatic acetylation and hydroxylation. Sulfasalazine’s half-life is 6–17 hours.
3.
Indications: Sulfasalazine is effective in RA and reduces radiologic disease progression. It has also been used in juvenile chronic arthritis, PsA, inflammatory bowel disease, AS, and spondyloarthropathy-associated uveitis. The usual regimen is 2–3 g/d.
4.
Adverse Effects: Approximately 30% of patients using sulfasalazine discontinue the drug because of toxicity. Common adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, and rash. Hemolytic anemia and methemoglobinemia also occur, but rarely. Neutropenia occurs in 1–5% of patients, while thrombocytopenia is very rare. Pulmonary toxicity and positive double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) are occasionally seen, but drug-induced lupus is rare. Reversible infertility occurs in men, but sulfasalazine does not affect fertility in women. The drug does not appear to be teratogenic.
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