| Presentation preference | Oral presentation |
| Title | TNF alpha-blockers in JIA-associated uveitis: therapeutical benefit and withdrawal possibilities |
| Purpose | To determine the proportion of successful discontinuation of TNF alpha-blockers in patients with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis. |
| Methods | A retrospective observational multicentric study with data from three French tertiary uveitis centers; La Pitie Salpetriere, Kremlin Bicetre and Nantes University Hospitals. The minimal follow-up was 4 years, ranging from 2001 to 2023. |
| Results | Thirty-two children were included. The mean age at onset was 6 years [range 1-18y]. Adalimumab was the most used TNF-alpha blocker. Drug discontinuation was proposed in 30% of cases. In this group, one third did not present any recurrence at the end of the follow-up.
Eventually, 10% of the 32 patients had a successful withdrawal of anti-TNF biotherapies (n=3). The mean delay of discontinuation was 50 months after the last uveitis flare-up in this group [range 7–92m] vs 37 months in the failed discontinuation group [range 21–71m] (p = 0,5).
In the failed discontinuation group (n=7), the mean delay between treatment withdrawal and uveitis relapse was 5.2 months [range 2-9,2 m.]. In the successful withdrawal group, the patients are meanly free of relapse for 66 months [range 22-118 m]. A successful discontinuation was significantly associated with an older age at onset of uveitis (11y vs 4.5y; p=0.04). An association trend emerged with successful methotrexate discontinuation (p=0,2). |
| Conclusion | TNF alpha-blockers appear as a suspensive therapy. They prevent from recurrences in patients with chronic stable uveitis. The discontinuation mostly ends with a relapse in less than 6 months. Discontinuation was successful in only 10% of patients. An older age at onset of uveitis is a favourable prognostic factor. |
| Conflict of interest | No |
Authors 1
| Last name | CHABBI |
| Initials of first name(s) | I |
| Department | CHU LA PITIE SALPETRIERE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 2
| Last name | LAM |
| Initials of first name(s) | D |
| Department | CHU LA PITIE SALPETRIERE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 3
| Last name | TOUHAMI |
| Initials of first name(s) | S |
| Department | CHU LA PITIE SALPETRIERE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 4
| Last name | FARDEAU |
| Initials of first name(s) | C |
| Department | CHU LA PITIE SALPETRIERE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 5
| Last name | WEBER |
| Initials of first name(s) | M |
| Department | CHU DE NANTES |
| City | NANTES |
| Country | France |
Authors 6
| Last name | COURET |
| Initials of first name(s) | C |
| Department | CHU DE NANTES |
| City | NANTES |
| Country | France |
Authors 7
| Last name | LABETOULLE |
| Initials of first name(s) | M |
| Department | CHU KREMLIN BICETRE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 8
| Last name | ROUSSEAU |
| Initials of first name(s) | A |
| Department | CHU KREMLIN BICETRE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 9
| Last name | QUARTIER |
| Initials of first name(s) | P |
| Department | CHU LA PITIE SALPETRIERE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
Authors 10
| Last name | BODAGHI |
| Initials of first name(s) | B |
| Department | CHU LA PITIE SALPETRIERE |
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
