Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease affecting the sacroiliac joints and the spine, manifesting with new bone formation and osteopenia. Five tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, certolizumab, and golimumab) are available for the treatment of AS, however, the results for the safety of TNF-α inhibitors in the treatment of AS are not consistent.
In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the safety of TNF-α inhibitors compared with placebo in reducing pain, swelling, and inflammation of AS patients. Eight relevant articles including 2049 patients were included for this meta-analysis study. We observed that the incidence of adverse events (RR  =  1.22, 95% CI: 1.12-1.33; P  =  .501, I  =  0%) and injection-site reaction (RR  =  2.93, 95% CI: 2.02-4.23; P  =  .691, I  =  0%) in AS patients' treatment with TNF-α inhibitors was significantly higher than that with placebo.
However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of serious adverse event, infection, serious infection, and discontinuations due to adverse event. TNF-α inhibitors may be a promising treatment for AS, but carries an increased incidence rate of adverse events and injection-site reaction.
Due to the existence of the unstable factors, further studies need to be done to verify the result of this study.