Key clinical point: Tofacitinib use increased the risk for herpes zoster (HZ) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi); however, the rate of serious HZ or tofacitinib discontinuation due to HZ was low.
Major finding: The incidence of HZ was significantly higher among patients receiving tofacitinib vs TNFi (incidence rate ratio 8.33; P < .001). However, the incidence of serious HZ was not significantly different between the groups ( P = .452), with HZ leading to only one case of permanent tofacitinib discontinuation.
Study details: This study included 912 patients with RA from two single-center prospective cohorts (tofacitinib cohort n = 200 and TNFi cohort n = 712).
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea, and Pfizer. Two authors declared being employees and shareholders of Pfizer Inc. YK Sung declared receiving research grants from Pfizer and other sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Song YJ et al. Increased risk of herpes zoster with tofacitinib treatment in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A single ‑center prospective study. Sci Rep. 2023;13:7877 (May 15). doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33718-7