Biologic therapies committee. What does it provide?

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the general healthcare impact of a Biological Therapies Commitee (immune-mediated inflammatory diseases) through prescription habits, pre-biological studies and immunization. MethodA quasi-experimental study was conducted on all naive patients of legal age who started treatment with a biological agent for an immune-mediated inflammatory disease the year before and the year after the creation of the Biological Therapies Committee. ResultsA total of 31 patients treated in 2016 and 40 patients treated in 2018 were included. Prescriptions of tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor drugs decreased in 2018 (from 80.6% to 45.0%, p < 0.05), while prescriptions of interleukin 12/23 inhibitors increased (from 12.9% to 35.0%, p < 0.05). Tuberculosis screening was statistically different between the two periods: the number of interferon gamma release assays performed was higher in 2018 (from 9.7% to 80.0%, p < 0.01) and the proportion of patients who successfully underwent chemoprophylaxis was higher in 2018 (from 36.4% to 81.8%, p < 0.05). The proportion of tests requested for the study of viral pathologies and the number of vaccines administered were also higher in 2018. ConclusionsThe development of a specific Biological Therapies Committee allows healthcare improvements, contributing to a deeper understanding of the medications and to preventing the infection-related adverse events. It would therefore seem advisable to develop specialized committees akin to the Biological Therapies Committee in other domains.