QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHILDREN WITH JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS TREATED WITH INFLIXIMAB

Abstract

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is chronic disease, leading to early incapacitating injury in patients. Treatment of JRA with new expensive biological agents allows obtaining long term remission of disease and improving its prognosis. Estimation of quality of life is one of the main effectiveness criteria of treatment. A quality of life in children who were 2–4 years old treated with infliximab was estimated. 43 patients with different types of JRA were examined. A quality of life was estimated with the help of questionnaire PEDSQL generic core scale, PEDSQL rheumatology module. Index of functional disability was estimated by childhood health assessment questionnaire (CHAQ). Significant increase of quality of life rates and decrease of index of functional disability was registered in 6 weeks of therapy with infliximab. The rates of quality of life in patients with JRA treated with infliximab were significantly equal to that in healthy children in the same age in 6, 12 and 24 months of treatment. Thus, treatment with infliximab significantly increases quality of life in children in 2–4 years old with JRA and their families, decreases negative influence of disease on child's living, improves physical activity and emotional state of patients, and allows improving contact between patients and healthy children in the same age.Key words: children, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, quality of life, infliximab.