EFFICACY OF INFLIXIMAB IN PATIENT WITH UNFAVORABLE CLINICAL COURSE OF JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

The article presents a case report of aggressive rapidly progressive severe polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) resistant to standard immunosuppressive treatment. Patient with extra-early (up to 6 months) arthritis was successfully treated with genetically engineered biological agent infliximab. Pain decreased significantly after first injection of a drug, the second injection resulted in decrease of laboratory activity, third one completely stopped exudative lesion of joints, morning stiffness, and restored functional activity of a child. Thus, after 6 months the disease was transferred to inactive phase, motions of joints restored, there was no need in nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Cardiovascular symptoms stopped as well. The case report showed high efficacy of tumor necrotizing factor _ blocker infliximab in patients with aggressive clinical course and markers of unfavorable prognosis at very early stages of JRA before irreversible lesions of joints happen. Key words: children, early juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, infliximab, treatment. (Voprosy sovremennoi pediatrii — Current Pediatrics. 2011; 10 (3): 157–165)