Medical Science
Volume 25, Issue 108, February, 2021
Hospitalization of rheumatoid arthritis patients at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia
Yasser M Bawazir1♦, Mohammad Mustafa2, Maram Alrajhi3, Lugain Khoj4, Roaa Alsolimani1, Wail Alamoudi4
1Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King
Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of
Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3Department of Medicine, Directorate of Health Affairs,
Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
4Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh,
Saudi Arabia
♦Corresponding author
Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz
University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia;
Email: ymbawazir@kau.edu.sa; ORCID ID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5060-3884
ABSTRACT
2Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3Department of Medicine, Directorate of Health Affairs, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
4Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia
Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Email: ymbawazir@kau.edu.sa; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5060-3884
Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) involves a high economic burden, particularly for patients who require hospitalization, the
need for which is affected by several factors including disease duration, comorbidities, medications, and socioeconomic status.
Method: We retrospectively reviewed all adult RA patients who visited King Abdulaziz University Hospital between 2010 and 2020.
Results: A total of 190 RA patients were identified, 176 and 141 of whom were female and seropositive, respectively. The most
common comorbidity was hypertension, followed by diabetes mellitus. The most common reason for admission was sleep studies,
followed by elective drug infusions, most of which were for rituximab. There were 8 admissions for infection, 4 for pneumonia; 1
for pulmonary tuberculosis; and 1 each for osteomyelitis, pyelonephritis, and urosepsis. We identified 3 and 2 cases of acute
coronary syndrome and breast cancer, respectively. Conclusion: The most common reason for hospitalization was biological drug
infusion. Patients on biological treatments had an increased hospitalization risk secondary to infection, particularly lower
respiratory tract infections. A national cohort for RA patients would help better understand this disease in our region.
Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, hospitalization, infections, biological
treatment, Saudi Arabia
Medical Science, 2021, 25(108), 381-390
