ArticleAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2016
Real-world comparative risks of herpes virus infections in tofacitinib and biologic-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Article in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03016884 (Safety and Tolerability of Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Immunized Prior to Biologics and Tofacitinib Therapy Initiation), which is not on this map. Cited by 114 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Safety and Tolerability of Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Immunized Prior to Biologics and Tofacitinib Therapy Initiation
Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 283 citations in OpenAlex.
- Herpes zoster in patients with inflammatory arthritides or ulcerative colitis treated with tofacitinib, baricitinib or upadacitinib: a systematic review of clinical trials and real-world studies.Rheumatology international · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Monoclonal Antibodies and Janus Kinase Inhibitors in Moderate-to-severe Atopic Dermatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2022Pooled it
- Biological drugs for systemic lupus erythematosus or active lupus nephritis and rates of infectious complications. Evidence from large clinical trials.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Safety of biological therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in administrative health databases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Contribution of a European-Prevalent Variant near CD83 and an East Asian-Prevalent Variant near IL17RB to Herpes Zoster Risk in Tofacitinib Treatment: Results of Genome-Wide Association Study Meta-Analyses.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2021Pooled it
- Impaired cellular immune responses to herpes zoster subunit vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving Janus kinase inhibitors.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Trial
- Tofacitinib for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis: An Integrated Summary of up to 7.8 Years of Safety Data from the Global Clinical Programme.Journal of Crohn's & colitis · 2023Trial
- Long-term Risk of Herpes Zoster Infection in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Receiving Tofacitinib.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2023Trial
- Risk of opportunistic infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis initiating abatacept: cumulative clinical trial data.Arthritis research & therapy · 2021Trial
- Tofacitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis in Japanese patients: Subgroup analyses from a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.The Journal of dermatology · 2017Trial
- The Safety and Immunogenicity of Live Zoster Vaccination in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Before Starting Tofacitinib: A Randomized Phase II Trial.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2017Trial
- Herpes Zoster in Patients Treated with JAK Inhibitors for Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: Incidence, Associated Factors and Vaccination Uptake in a Real-World Cohort.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Plasma metabolomic and lipidomic signatures characteristic of treatment non-response in rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Emerging therapeutic targets in non-infectious uveitis and scleritis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- CYTOMEGALOVIRUS RETINITIS IN NON-HIV IMMUNOCOMPROMISED INDIVIDUALS ON TOFACITINIB FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS.Retinal cases & brief reports · 2025Article
- Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) in diseases: implications for therapy.Molecular biomedicine · 2025Review
- The Dual-Edged Sword: Risks and Benefits of JAK Inhibitors in Infections.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Neutrophil diversity and function in health and disease.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- Real-world risk factors for herpes zoster in patients with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing tofacitinib treatment.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2024Article
54 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
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the risks of herpes zoster (HZ) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection associated with tofacitinib compared with biologic agents among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
methodsUsing health plan data from 2010 to 2014, patients with RA initiating tofacitinib or biologics with no history of HZ or HSV were identified, as were incident cases of HZ or HSV. Crude incidence rates were calculated by drug exposure. Cox proportional hazards models evaluated the adjusted association between tofacitinib and HZ, and a composite outcome of HZ or HSV.
resultsA total of 2526 patients initiating tofacitinib were compared with initiations of other biologics: anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) (n=42 850), abatacept (n=12 305), rituximab (n=5078) and tocilizumab (n=6967). Patients receiving tofacitinib were somewhat younger (mean age 55 years) versus those on other biologics, and somewhat less likely to use concomitant methotrexate (MTX) (39% vs 43%-56%, depending on drug). Crude incidence of HZ associated with tofacitinib was 3.87/100 patient-years (py). After multivariable adjustment, HZ risk was significantly elevated, HR 2.01 (95% CI 1.40 to 2.88) compared with abatacept. Rates and adjusted HRs for all other RA biologics were comparable with each other and abatacept. Older age, female sex, prednisone >7.5 mg/day, prior outpatient infection and greater number of hospitalisations were also associated with increased HZ risk. Incidence rates for the combined outcome were greatest for tofacitinib (7.61/100 py) and also significantly elevated after adjustment (HR=1.40, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.81).
conclusionsThe rate of zoster associated with tofacitinib was approximately double that observed in patients using biologics.
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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.