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  • Response to: ‘Prevention of infections in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis: potential role of hydroxychloroquine’ by Novikov et al

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Correspondence response
Response to: ‘Prevention of infections in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis: potential role of hydroxychloroquine’ by Novikov et al
  1. Andreas Kronbichler1,
  2. David Jayne2
  1. 1 Internal Medicine IV, Nephrology and Hypertension, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
  2. 2 Division of Nephrology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Andreas Kronbichler, Internal Medicine IV, Nephrology and Hypertension, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria; andreas.kronbichler{at}i-med.ac.at

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-214735

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    We thank Dr Novikov et al for their letter on the risk of infections of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis and the proposed beneficial effects of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to reduce severe infections, as a response to our recently published article ‘Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis prevents severe/life-threatening infections following rituximab in antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis’.1 2

    Modern therapies and adoption of treatment protocols have improved outcome of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis. Morbidity and mortality, either attributable to the disease or immunosuppressive measures, remain a challenge for the treating physician. A recent meta-analysis of observational studies found a 2.7-fold increased risk of death with a trend towards improved mortality rates in more recent cohorts.3 Among patients recruited into the ‘early trials’ conducted by the European Vasculitis Society (EUVAS), 133 (25%) deaths were recorded over a median follow-up period of 5.2 years. Main causes for death were infections (48%) and active vasculitis (19%) in the first year, while infectious complications remained one of the leading complications leading to mortality (20%) thereafter. Moreover, infections were the leading contributing factor of mortality in this period.4 Several risk factors leading to infections have been identified in …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Josef S Smolen

    • Contributors AK wrote the manuscript. DJ revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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