Baricitinib for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: A monocentric case series

Antitumour necrosis factor α drugs dramatically changed the prognosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), the most common chronic rheumatic disease in childhood. Promising results from janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi), small molecules orally administered that inhibit specific receptor of the JAK family, are emerging. Tofacitinib, a non-selective JAKi, has shown an excellent efficacy in a recent randomised controlled trial(RCT) for polyarticular JIA.1 Baricitinib, a selective JAK 1 and JAK 2 inhibitor, resulted superior to placebo and adalimumab (ADA) in treating rheumatoid arthritis.2 Data are, however, scarce in JIA, and results from ongoing RCTs are still pending(NCT03773978, NCT03773965, NCT04088409). We, here, report four patients with polyarticular JIA children, fulfilling ILAR criteria, treated with baricitinib (4 mg) (table 1). All patients received an extensive infectious workup before drug starting.