CHARACTERIZATION OF ADVERSE REACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF BIOLOGICAL MEDICINES IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN SALVADOR, BAHIA

Abstract

Biological drugs have taken on an important role in the treatment of autoimmune diseases worldwide. In Brazil, there are few studies that evaluate the safety of using new biologicals. The main objective of this study is to determine the frequency of adverse reactions to drugs associated with the use of biological disease-modifying drugs among patients followed up at an Infusion Center. This is a cohort study with prospective and retrospective data collection involving patients recruited at the Biological Infusion Center of the Professor Edgard Santos University Hospital Complex in Salvador, Bahia. The results show that patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis and treated with biological products during a six-year study period point out that the reported adverse events were mild to moderate and the clinical manifestations related to infections and skin diseases stood out. It is concluded that type B adverse reactions occurred at a very low frequency and that there is a need to increase the reporting of adverse reactions to drugs in order to be able to develop research with more assertive and complete data.