Rona M Smith, Rachel B Jones, Ulrich Specks, Simon Bond, Marianna Nodale, Reem Al-Jayyousi, Jacqueline Andrews, Annette Bruchfeld, Brian Camilleri, Simon Carette, Chee Kay Cheung, Vimal Derebail, Tim Doulton, Alastair Ferraro, Lindsy Forbess, Shouichi Fujimoto, Shunsuke Furuta, Ora Gewurz-Singer, Lorraine Harper, Toshiko Ito-Ihara, Nader Khalidi, Rainer Klocke, Curry Koening, Yoshinori Komagata, Carol Langford, Peter Lanyon, Raashid Luqmani, Carol McAlear, Larry W Moreland, Kim Mynard, Patrick Nachman, Christian Pagnoux, Chen Au Peh, Charles Pusey, Dwarakanathan Ranganathan, Rennie L Rhee, Robert Spiera, Antoine G Sreih, Vladamir Tesar, Giles Walters, Caroline Wroe, David Jayne, Peter A Merkel
OBJECTIVE: Following induction of remission with rituximab in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) relapse rates are high, especially in patients with history of relapse. Relapses are associated with increased exposure to immunosuppressive medications, the accrual of damage and increased morbidity and mortality. The RITAZAREM trial compared the efficacy of repeat-dose rituximab to daily oral azathioprine for prevention of relapse in patients with relapsing AAV in whom remission was reinduced with rituximab...
March 23, 2023: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases