Evaluation of Safety of Rituximab in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Retrograde Study

Overview

Journal Curr J Neurol

Publisher Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Specialty Neurology

Date 2023 Nov 27

PMID 38011421

Authors

Nastaran Majdinasab

Mitra Sadrian

Davood Kashipazha

Maryam Moradi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The study aimed to judge the safety and possible side effects of rituximab (RTX) drug in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This retrospective observational study was performed on 91 patients with MS who had been treated with RTX between 2016 and 2019. Each patient was visited and examined a minimum of once. The side effects of the drug and therefore the drug-related reactions to the injection were asked via phone calls, which were recorded separately as mild, moderate, and severe modes with the necessity for hospitalization. A total of 91 patients were enrolled within the study: 80 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 6 patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and 5 patients with primary progressive MS (PPMS). The mean age of the patients was 32.18 ± 8.71 years (18 to 60 years). The injection-related side effects occurred in 30.8% of the injections, most of which were mild and one of the mild complications was urinary tract infection (UTI). Two cases of complications with moderate severity were recorded. The observations from this study demonstrated that RTX did not cause serious complications in patients with MS.

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