According to a study issued in Southern Medical Journal, the routine use of baricitinib 4 mg did not lead to increased risk of infections in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). But, the occurence of serious adverse events, study withdrawal due to adverse events, or severe infections were not considerably different as compared to the placebo.

To examine the safety of baricitinib, Tracey D Dabal and researchers performed database searching to find the suitable randomized controlled trials comparing baricitinib at a dose of 4 mg versus placebo for RA treatment.

The safety outcomes under consideration were the occurrence of serious adverse events, study withdrawal due to adverse events, all infections, and severe infections. Adjusted risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled for safety outcomes. Risk of bias assessed via Cochrane tool.

Four randomized controlled trials with 3106 patients considered. The pooled RR (95% CI) was 1.09 (0.76-1.57) and 1.41 (0.94-2.11) for serious adverse events and study withdrawal due to adverse events, respectively. For all reported- and severe infections, the pooled RR (95% CI) was 1.24 (1.10-1.40) and 0.97 (0.51-2.57).