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. 2021 Sep 23;40(11):4457–4471. doi: 10.1007/s10067-021-05911-4

Key Points

• Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), especially those with uncontrolled, high disease activity and those with comorbidities.

• In addition to the well-known risk factors that provoke VTE events, advanced age and cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking, should be considered risk factors for VTE.

• Although a signal of VTE/pulmonary embolism (PE) risk with JAK inhibitors has been noted in RA patients who are already at high risk, the evidence is currently insufficient to support the increased risk of VTE during RA treatment with JAK inhibitors.

• If there are no suitable alternatives, clinicians should prescribe JAK inhibitors with caution, considering both the strength of individual risk factors and the cumulative weight of all risk factors for each patient.