The safety of canakinumab in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and autoinflammatory diseases in pediatric patients: a multicenter study

ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety of canakinumab using real-world data in patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and autoinflammatory diseases (AID).Research design and methodsThis was a cross-sectional observational, multicenter study. Patients diagnosed with AID and sJIA treated with canakinumab were included in the study. The participating 13 centers retrospectively collected their patients' data.ResultsA total of 335 patients were involved in the study. Among these patients, 280 were in the AID group and 55 were in the sJIA group. Canakinumab was administered at a median dose of 3 (2.5-4) mg/kg. The median total exposure time to canakinumab was 1.9 (0.8-3.2) years, corresponding to 759.5 patient-years. Seven hundred and seventy-nine total adverse events (AE) were identified. The total incidence of AE, and serious adverse events (SAE) throughout the study period was 1.02 per patient-years. The upper respiratory tract infection rate was 0.7 per patient-years, while the other infection rate was 0.13 per patient-years. While no death was observed in any patient, SAE were observed in 8 patients. Interstitial lung disease, anaphylaxis, or anaphylactoid reactions were not observed in any patient.ConclusionsReal-life data from a large cohort of patients suggests that canakinumab is as safe as claimed in clinical trials.