A case of refractory adult-onset Still’s disease treated with anakinra

Adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) often presents both a diagnostic and a therapeutic challenge. We report a 40-year-old Chinese woman, in whom multiple adjustments of drug combinations were required before successful control of the patient’s disabling symptoms. The patient failed multiple therapies including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoid, methotrexate (MTX), cyclosporine, leflunomide and infliximab. Treatment was complicated by hyperglycemia, glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, worsening hypertension and vaginal candidiasis. She suffered recurrent hospitalisation for active disease, developed carpal joint erosions and lost her employment over the course of 1 year. In view of refractoriness to multiple conventional therapies, anakinra was initiated in combination with MTX with a rapid and sustained improvement in clinical and laboratory parameters over 12 months. However, radiographic damage ensued despite aggressive therapies.