It is common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have infections, and a dominant risk factor for infection in these patients is the use of immunosuppressive medication. In an abstract presented at the 59th Annual Meeting and Continuing Education Program of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (2005) Kolokotronis, et al dis-cussed methotraxate (MTX), a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, and adalimumab, a human antitumor necrosis factor (a monoclonal antibody) that is an important advance in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Tuberculosis is a potential adverse reaction from treatment with adalimumab and/or MTX. The authors presented a case of interest to dentists involving oral tuberculosis that was manifested as an adverse reaction in a rheumatoid arthritis patient who was treated with adalimumab and MTX.
(Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, Vol. 100, No. 2, August 2005)
