DOI: 10.36347/SASJM.2019.v05i11.002

Pages: 187-189

Introduction: Tocilizumab (TCZ) is now one of the main biomedicines in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).The disturbance of the lipid profile is very frequent during its use.The objective of this work is to determine the changes in the lipid profile in RA patients treated with tocilizumab. Patients and methods: This is a cross sectional study including patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tocilizumab. The study was carried out in rheumatology department in the university hospital Hassan II of Fez. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL were measured in the plasma preceding TCZ and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: Our study showed Increases in the fasting plasma lipid levels (within the normal range) from baseline and at week 12 as follows: Total cholesterol for 37, 5% of patients, LDL cholesterol for 25%, Triglycerides (TG) for 18.7% and HDL for 6.3% of patients. The statistical analysis of the different lipid parameters did not objectify significant association at baseline and at three months of treatment except for the Triglycerides (p = 0.002). Conclusion: The tocilizumab is responsible of disturbance in the lipid profile of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but these results require confirmation on a larger number of patients, and to continue this lipid profile monitoring on a longer term.