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The risk of herpes zoster: another cost of anti-TNF therapy?

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 5, pages 361–363 (2009)Cite this article

Several studies have shown that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are associated with an overall increased risk of serious infections compared with standard immunosuppressive regimens in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A study by Strangfeld et al. adds specificity by showing a moderately increased risk of herpes zoster in patients receiving anti-TNF antibody treatment, and raises the question of whether live zoster vaccines should be utilized in this patient group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

    Tim Bongartz & Robert Orenstein

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  1. Tim Bongartz
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  2. Robert Orenstein
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Correspondence to Tim Bongartz.

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Competing interests

T. Bongartz has received grant/research support from Amgen and Wyeth. R. Orenstein declares no competing interest.

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Bongartz, T., Orenstein, R. The risk of herpes zoster: another cost of anti-TNF therapy?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 5, 361–363 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2009.120

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