Therapy of progressive rheumatoid arthritis-associated corneal ulceration with infliximab.

PURPOSE: To review the relative efficacy of the TNFalpha antagonist infliximab in treating 3 patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated peripheral ulcerative keratitis.

METHODS: Review of the clinical course of 3 nonconsecutive patients with progressive rheumatoid arthritis-associated peripheral ulcerative keratitis who were initially treated with conventional immunosuppressant therapy and subsequently treated with infliximab.

RESULTS: All 3 patients experienced progressive corneal ulceration on oral prednisone and weekly oral or intramuscular methotrexate. They all demonstrated a marked reduction in conjunctival injection, closure of their corneal epithelial defects, and arrest of corneal thinning after receiving infliximab. Two out of 3 patients required patch grafts for treatment of corneal perforations before starting infliximab, and they had no further keratolysis after receiving this agent.

CONCLUSIONS: Infliximab was effective in arresting progressive rheumatoid arthritis-associated peripheral ulcerative keratitis that was refractory to conventional immunomodulatory therapy.