Safety of Adalimumab in Pediatric Patients with Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Enthesitis-Related Arthritis, Psoriasis, and Crohn's Disease.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the safety of adalimumab in pediatric patients who participated in clinical trials of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and pediatric enthesitis-related arthritis), psoriasis, and Crohn's disease.

STUDY

DESIGN

This analysis included data from 7 global, randomized, and open-label AbbVie-sponsored clinical trials of adalimumab and their open-label extensions conducted between September 2002 and December 31, 2015 (cutoff date for ongoing studies). Patients who received ≥1 dose of adalimumab subcutaneously were included. Adverse events that occurred after the first dose of adalimumab and up to 70 days (5 half-lives) after the last dose were reported and events per 100 patient-years were calculated.

RESULTS

The analysis included 577 pediatric patients, representing 1440.7 patient-years of adalimumab exposure. Across indications, the most commonly reported adverse events (events/100 patient-years) were upper respiratory tract infections (24.3), nasopharyngitis (17.3), and headache (19.9). Serious infections (4.0 events/100 patient-years) were the most frequent serious adverse events across indications; the most commonly reported was pneumonia (0.6 events/100 patient-years). Serious infection rates were 2.7, 0.8, and 6.6 events/100 patient-years in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease, respectively. No events of malignancies were reported. One death (accidental fall) occurred in a patient with psoriasis.

CONCLUSIONS

The safety profile of adalimumab in pediatric patients with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, enthesitis-related arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease was generally similar across indications; no new safety signals were identified in the treatment of pediatric patients with adalimumab.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00048542, NCT00775437, NCT00690573, NCT01166282, NCT01251614, NCT00409682, and NCT00686374.