The type of infections and the use of antibiotics among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A review.

Abstract

Patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis have a heightened susceptibility to infections, which may lead to higher rates of illness and death. The heightened susceptibility may arise from the illness itself, which causes changes in the body's innate cellular defense mechanisms, or from the medications used to manage the condition. The precise level of risk for infections associated with traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs has not been fully elucidated. This review aimed To investigate the type of infections and the use of antibiotics among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. An electronic literature search was conducted using the MEDLINE database, with the indicated search keywords: infections, antibiotics, use, patients, rheumatoid, and arthritis. To identify relevant information, the search was limited to articles published between 2017 and 2024. The researchers used suitable search terms on Google Scholar to discover and examine relevant scholarly articles. The selection of articles was determined by several inclusion criteria. The research included publications that were published from 2017 to 2024. The study was organized into many sections, each including particular categories within the analysis section.we reportrd that : Within the developing age of focused synthetic treatments for RA, severe infections persist as the primary consequence of long-term treatment. In all patients with rheumatoid arthritis, it is necessary to conduct initial screenings for hepatitis B virus and tuberculosis. Additionally, it is important to administer vaccinations for specific pathogens (such as pneumococcal, herpes zoster, and influenza) before and during treatment. Aggressive therapy should be pursued to effectively manage disease activity in RA patients, while also maintaining constant vigilance for early signs of infections. Extra care should be given to senior rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are over 65 years old and have other medical conditions. These people are often more susceptible to developing infections, regardless of the medication they get. The trials conducted with different antibiotics have confirmed the effectiveness of these medications in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, it is plausible that the culprit responsible for rheumatoid arthritis is a microbe, namely periodontopathic bacteria.