Objective: To study the clinical effectiveness and safety of Tofacitinib in refractory Takayasu arteritis (TAK). Methods:  This study was conducted from September 2021 to June 2022. Ten cases of refractory TAK patients were enrolled. TAK patients who required >7.5mg prednisolone or equivalent per day and those who failed to achieve remission despite being on conventional immunomodulators, with an Indian Takayasu Activity Score 2010 (ITAS 2010) of > 1 were included in this study. Tofacitinib was used at a dose of 5 mg twice daily after ruling out latent tuberculosis. The patients were followed up at 1, 3 and 6 months. ESR, CRP and ITAS 2010 were recorded at each visit. Complete blood counts, liver, and kidney function tests were done to assess the adverse effects at baseline and follow up. Results: There was a mean decline in ESR from 60.7 ± 20.05 mm/1^st hour at baseline to 11.9 ± 2.38mm/1^st hour at 6 months, CRP from 28.9 ± 16.77 mg/L at baseline to 6.8 ± 7.52 mg/L at 6 months, ITAS 2010 from 6.2 ± 2.74 at baseline to 0.6 ± 1.26 at 6 months (p value 0.016). All the patients tolerated tofacitinib well without any adverse effects. Conclusions: The results of our research indicate that tofacitinib is safe and effective for treating patients with refractory TAK.  

Cite this article as: Prakashini MV, Maikap D, Padhan P. Successful Use of Tofacitinib in Refractory Takayasu Arteritis: A Case Series. Mediterr J Rheumatol 2023;34(3):356-62.

Article Submitted: 19 Oct 2022; Revised Form: 17 Nov 2022; Article Accepted: 28 Nov 2022; Available Online: 29 Sep 2023

https://doi.org/10.31138/mjr.230929.su

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