Refractory Adult-onset Still's Disease Treated with a Combination of Methotrexate and Etanercept

Abstract

Background: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a challenging diagnosis because of the variability in clinical presentation and lack of gold-standard diagnostic investigations. Even after diagnosis, the treatment is challenging, especially when the disease is refractory to first-line therapy. Multiple pharmacotherapeutic options exist for refractory AOSD, but treatment failures still occur. Etanercept, a Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitor, is one of the options that has been rarely used for refractory AOSD, with various outcomes ranging from no response to complete remission.

Case presentation: In this case, we highlight how a previously healthy lady had refractory AOSD to glucocorticoids, methotrexate, and hydroxychloroquine combination therapy. There was no response to interleukin (IL)-1 therapy, which necessitated a switch to a combination of etanercept, low-dose methotrexate, and low-dose glucocorticoids with complete remission for a total of three- -year follow-up.

Conclusion: The combination of methotrexate and Etanercept can maintain remission in patients with refractory AOSD.

Keywords: (TNF)-alpha inhibitor; Still’s disease; combination of methotrexate and Etanercept.; interleukin (IL)-1 therapy; pharmacotherapy; refractory treatment.