Does Antiviral Treatment for Patients With RA and Influenza Improve Outcomes?

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who received antiviral treatment for influenza infection were less likely to return for follow-up clinic visits or be hospitalized, in turn reducing health care-related costs among patients, according to a large retrospective cohort study published in ACR Open Rheumatology.

“Patients with RA, a chronic autoimmune disease affecting joints and other tissues throughout the body, were found to have a 2.75-fold higher risk of serious complications from influenza compared with patients without RA,” the authors explained. “We assessed whether health care resource use and costs differed between patients with RA and influenza who received antiviral medication compared with matched patients with RA and influenza not receiving antiviral therapy.”

The large retrospective study included information for 3 years (2016-2019, between October and April each year) of adults with RA and subsequent diagnosis of influenza. Gathering health resources use and costs from inpatient and outpatient visits, and emergency department visits, the investigators divided the participants into 2 groups: patients who received antiviral influenza treatment within 2 days of diagnosis and untreated patients.

Among the final 2638 treated and 1319 untreated patients, the researchers found that the mean number of all-cause outpatient visits was 0.96 for treated group and 1.21 for untreated group after 14-day follow up; and 1.94 for treated group and 2.24 for untreated group after 28-day follow up. For emergency department visits after 28 days, the mean number among the treated group (0.23) was lower than the untreated group (0.30). Overall, the significantly lower number of hospital/clinic visits translated into a lower mean cost for the treated group ($17.89 over 14 days and $28.92 over 28 days) versus the untreated group ($35.27 over 14 days and $48.77 over 28 days)

“Our findings demonstrate that prompt antiviral treatment after influenza diagnosis may reduce health resource use and costs in patients with RA,” the investigators concluded.

—Priyam Vora

Reference:
Neuberger EE, To TM, Seetasith A, Arndorfer SM, and Wallick CJ. Antiviral use and health care use among US patients with rheumatoid arthritis and influenza in three influenza seasons, 2016-2019. ACR Open Rheumatology. 2022;4(7):631-639. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acr2.11441