Table 4. Summary of adverse effects in GCA/TAA pts treated with biological agents.
| Type of LVV | Biological agent | Number of patients | Number of Studies | Number pts. (%) with AE | Cessation rate* | Adverse Effects | |
| Infections | Miscellaneous effects | ||||||
| GCA | TCZ | 19 | 5 | 11 (36.8%) ** | 0 | 0 | 4 leukopenia, 5 transaminitis, 1 adrenal insufficiency and 1 post-op MI resulting in death |
| IFX | 33 | 3 | 26 (78.9%) | 3/33 (12.2%) | 20/33 (60.6 %) | 1 heart failure, 6 infusion reactions | |
| ETN | 8 | 1 | 8 (100 %) | 3/8 (37.5 %) | 4/8 (50 %) | 1 heart failure, 1 N/V/weight loss, 2 transaminitis, 1 injection reaction | |
| ADA | 34 | 1 | 24 (70.59) | 5/34 (14.7) | 16/34 (47 %) | 1 injection site reaction, 1 breast CA | |
| TAA | TCZ | 11 | 4 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| IFX | 85 | 12 | 23/85 (27%) | 11/85 (15.2%) | 11/23 (47.8%) | steroid psychosis, breast CA transaminitis, allergic rash, allergy, serum sickness, pancreatic CA (all 1 pt) 4 infusion reactions | |
| ETN | 12 | 3 | 3/12 (25%) | 1/4 | 2/4 | N and HTN (1 pt in total) | |
| ADA | 3 | 2 | NR | NR | NR | NR | |
| RXB | 5 | 2 | NR | NR | NR | NR | |
Abbreviations: A/E (adverse effects), TCZ (tocilizumab), IFX (infliximab), ETN (etanercept), ADA (adalimumab), RXB (rituximab), N (nausea), V (vomiting), N/A (not applicable), NR (not reported), HTN (hypertension), MI (myocardial infarction).
* Cessation rate - discontinuation secondary to adverse effects;
** Likely an overestimation as one study did not specify which patients developed leukopenia and transaminitis