SynthesisArthritis research & therapy2011
The association between systemic glucocorticoid therapy and the risk of infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: systematic review and meta-analyses.
Synthesis in Arthritis research & therapy, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
87 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 189 citations in OpenAlex.
- 2024 Update of the Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) Recommendations for Rheumatoid Arthritis Management.International journal of rheumatic diseases · 2026Guideline
- Impact of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive therapies on symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large cohort of patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2020Trial
- The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Arthritis research & therapy · 2017Trial
- Severe infections in giant cell arteritis - incidence over time and relation to large vessel involvement and comorbidities, a population-based study.BMC rheumatology · 2026Article
- Article
- Molecular origin, discovery, validation and application of neoantigens.Asian journal of pharmaceutical sciences · 2026Review
- Real-world safety of satralizumab in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: a FAERS-based risk stratification study.Journal of neurology · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a risk score for serious infection in patients with rheumatic diseases receiving prolonged high-dose glucocorticoids.Arthritis research & therapy · 2026Article
- Improving Psychological Well-Being and Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease Through Exercise and Pulmonary Rehabilitation: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
- Higher revision rates in primary total hip arthroplasty among patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared with osteoarthritis.Bone & joint open · 2025Article
- Risk of infection in patients with early inflammatory arthritis: results from a large UK prospective observational cohort study.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Observational
- Article
- Severe Respiratory Infections in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: An Observational Study of 528 Patients from a Single University Hospital.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Outcomes and risk factors of COVID-19 in patients with bullous pemphigoid: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Incidence, risk factors for active tuberculosis infection and changes of IGRA in patients with Takayasu arteritis: a prospective cohort study.Emerging microbes & infections · 2024Article
- Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: 2024 update.Rheumatology and immunology research · 2024Article
- Association of Cardiovascular Outcomes With Low-Dose Glucocorticoid Prescription in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Outpatient glucocorticoid use and COVID-19 outcomes: a population-based study.Inflammopharmacology · 2024Article
- Purulent pericarditis caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteriuria.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2024Article
27 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionInfection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy on the risk of infection in patients with RA.
methodsA systematic review was conducted by using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials database to January 2010 to identify studies among populations of patients with RA that reported a comparison of infection incidence between patients treated with GC therapy and patients not exposed to GC therapy.
resultsIn total, 21 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and 42 observational studies were included. In the RCTs, GC therapy was not associated with a risk of infection (relative risk (RR), 0.97 (95% CI, 0.69, 1.36)). Small numbers of events in the RCTs meant that a clinically important increased or decreased risk could not be ruled out. The observational studies generated a RR of 1.67 (1.49, 1.87), although significant heterogeneity was present. The increased risk (and heterogeneity) persisted when analyses were stratified by varying definitions of exposure, outcome, and adjustment for confounders. A positive dose-response effect was seen.
conclusionsWhereas observational studies suggested an increased risk of infection with GC therapy, RCTs suggested no increased risk. Inconsistent reporting of safety outcomes in the RCTs, as well as marked heterogeneity, probable residual confounding, and publication bias in the observational studies, limits the opportunity for a definitive conclusion. Clinicians should remain vigilant for infection in patients with RA treated with GC therapy.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.