HBV Reactivation in Patients Treated with Antitumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-α)‎ Agents for Rheumatic and Dermatologic Conditions : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract EN

Introduction.

Antitumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) agents are widely used for treatment of rheumatic and dermatological diseases.

We conducted the systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of HBV reactivation among patients treated with anti-TNF-α.

Methods and Findings.

A comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, Scopus, and ISI Web of Knowledge databases was conducted.

From 21 studies included in the systematic review, 9 included patients with occult chronic HBV infection and 6 included patients with overt infection while 6 addressed both groups.

Based on 10 studies eligible for meta-analysis we report pooled estimate of HBV reactivation of 4.2% (95% CI: 1.4–8.2%, I2: 74.7%).

The pooled prevalence of reactivation was 3.0% (95% CI: 0.6–7.2, I2: 77.1%) for patients with occult infection, and 15.4% (95% CI: 1.2–41.2%, I2: 79.9%) for overt infection.

The prevalence of reactivation was 3.9% (95% CI: 1.1–8.4%, I2: 51.1%) for treatment with etanercept and 4.6% (95% CI: 0.5–12.5%, I2: 28.7%) for adalimumab.

For subgroup of patients without any antiviral prophylaxis the pooled reactivation was 4.0% (95% CI: 1.2–8.3%, I2: 75.6%).

Conclusion.

Although HBV reactivation rate is relatively low in patients treated with anti-TNF-α for rheumatic and dermatological conditions, the antiviral prophylaxis would be recommended in patients with overt chronic HBV infection.