Common side effects, adherence and satisfaction of patients using biological therapies for rheumatologic diseases

Biological agents use have significantly improved the prognosis of rheumatologic diseases (RD). Despite great therapeutic effects, many patients may not adequately comply with these treatments. The aim is to study common side effects, adherence and its barriers during therapy. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire tool in the rheumatology service of a tertiary hospital. Patients diagnosed with one RD using a biological agent were enrolled in the study. The questionnaire was adopted and modified for the current study setting. Face validation was carried out following a forward backward translation to the Turkish language. A written consent form was acquired and the study design was approved by an ethical committee. Statistical analysis was carried using SPSS version 25. 80 patients with RD were invited of whom 60 patients responded (75%). Among responders, 76.7% were females with a mean age of patients 50.85 ± 1.7 years. The average duration of biological drug use was found significantly higher with infliximab (6.48 ± 0.78 years) than the others (p=0.017). Most patients (63.33%) used biological drugs for the first time. Of those who discontinued a biological therapy before; the most common reason was ineffectiveness (55%) followed by infusion reactions (24%). Common side effects include insomnia (18.33%), headache (15%), feeling restless (15%), muscle stiffness (13.33%), blurred vision (11.66%), and difficulty to move (11.66%). In conclusion, findings indicate that biologic therapy has few tolerable side effects, and has a high rate of drug discontinuation mostly due to the ineffectiveness of the first agent used. Keywords: Biological drugs, side effects, treatment satisfaction, discontinuation