Introduction: Fatigue is a major determinant of impaired quality of life in primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) patients. Effective therapeutic strategies are lacking.
Objectives: To review the potential benefit of rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 antibody, in the treatment of fatigue in pSS.
Methods: A systematic review on the effect of rituximab on fatigue-related outcome measures was conducted, retrieving evidence from CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, and Scopus.
Results: No benefit of rituximab over placebo on any fatigue-related outcome measure could be demonstrated in the included trials. Significant effects were only observed when compared with baseline, but not when compared with placebo.
Conclusions: The use of rituximab for the treatment of pSS-related fatigue cannot be supported by the currently available evidence.
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