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Infectious disease screening in rheumatological patients: a narrative review on methods, risk stratification and clinical management

delete2026-06-22
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PRE
AI
F
F. Santoro *
F
Fabio Brandolino
G
Gianluigi Bajocchi
P
Paolo Pavone
G
Giada Contardi
A
Anna Spadoni
F
Fabio Sampaolesi
E
Eleonora Salsi
S
Sergio Mezzadri
C
Carlo Salvarani
DOI:10.1080/1744666X.2026.2691035delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Infectious disease screening is now a routine component in the management of patients with rheumatological conditions and is mandatory in some settings before initiating biologic or conventional immunosuppressive therapies. In this narrative review, we summarize the current literature to assist clinicians in interpreting screening results and risk stratification, and to guide subsequent clinical management, including prophylaxis, monitoring, and treatment strategies. The review of the literature was performed using MEDLINE and Embase, complemented by manual searches of reference lists and gray literature, to identify evidence on infectious disease screening in patients with rheumatologic conditions undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. Available evidence supports the importance of effective pre-treatment screening and risk assessment in patients requiring immunosuppression. However, significant knowledge gaps remain, particularly regarding infectious risks linked to certain drug classes and the optimal implementation of screening strategies.
Keywords:
HBV
HCV
tuberculosis
HIV
biological therapy
infectious screening

Journal

Expert Review of Clinical Immunology cover
Expert Review of Clinical Immunology
IF:
3.7
Papers:
2.1K
Citations:
4.6K

Organization

I
irccs arcispedale santa maria nuova
Scholars:
3
Papers: 2
Citations: 0
A
azienda usl-irccs di reggio emilia
Scholars:
122
Papers: 37
Citations: 0
U
university of modena and reggio emilia
Scholars:
914
Papers: 429
Citations: 0
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