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Liver Fibrosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with Methotrexate
Ghizlane Hilal1, Nessrine Akasbi1, Hanae Boudouaya2
1Department of Rheumatology, CHU Hassan II, Fez, Morocco.
Current Rheumatology Reviews
|March 20, 2020
Summary
The prevalence of liver fibrosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with methotrexate is low. Fibrosis was more common when methotrexate was combined with other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Hepatology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Methotrexate (MTX) is a cornerstone therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
- MTX use is associated with potential liver-related adverse events.
- Evaluating liver fibrosis prevalence and MTX dose correlation in RA patients is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of liver fibrosis in RA patients undergoing MTX therapy.
- To assess the relationship between cumulative MTX dose and hepatic fibrosis.
- To identify factors associated with liver fibrosis in this patient cohort.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study conducted from January 2012 to March 2019.
- Inclusion of RA patients meeting ACR 2010 criteria and on MTX treatment.
- Statistical analysis using SPSS v20, including univariate and bivariate analyses (p<0.05).
Main Results:
- 319 RA patients (276 female, 43 male) were analyzed.
- A low prevalence of liver fibrosis (2%) was observed in patients on MTX.
- Bivariate analysis showed significant correlations between liver fibrosis, hepatic cytolysis (p<0.001), and combination MTX therapy (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of hepatic fibrosis in RA patients treated with MTX is low in this study's context.
- Combination therapy with other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) showed a higher association with fibrosis.
- Further validation in larger patient populations is recommended to confirm these findings.
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