Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease: Safety of Biological Antirheumatic Drugs and Assessment of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Accompanying the increased number of reports on the development or exacerbation of ILD in RA patients following therapy with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), RA-associated ILD (RA-ILD) has aroused renewed interest. Although such cases have been reported mainly in association with the use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, the use of other biological DMARDs has also become a matter of concern. Nevertheless, it is difficult to establish a causative relationship between the use of biological DMARDs and either the development or exacerbation of ILD. Such pulmonary complications may occur in the natural course of RA regardless of the use of biological DMARDs. Since rheumatologists currently aim to achieve remission in RA patients, the administration of biological DMARDs is increasing, even for those with RA-ILD. However, there are no reliable, evidence-based guidelines for deciding whether biological DMARDs can be safely introduced and continued in RA-ILD patients. A standardized staging system for pulmonary conditions of RA-ILD patients is needed when making therapeutic decisions at baseline and monitoring during biological DMARD therapy. Based on the available information regarding the safety of biological DMARDs and the predictive factors for a worse prognosis, this review discusses candidate parameters for risk evaluation of ILD in RA patients who are scheduled to receive biological antirheumatic therapy.