TNF-alpha Inhibitors Induced Eosinophilia: A Case Report of an Undervalued Side Effect of Such Biologicals

Abstract

Introduction: We present an unusual case of a 28-year-old rheumatologic male patient who developed eosinophilia while he was on etanercept therapy first and then on golimumab.

Case representation: Although eosinophilia is rarely reported in the literature as a side-effect of various Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] antagonists, it represents a riddle about the future treatments of these patients since the persistence of therapy might lead to the onset of dermatologic or visceral eosinophilic complications in such patients.

Conclusion: Furthermore, the pathogenesis of eosinophilia is still unknown, and all the proposed hypotheses do not explain the eosinophilic proliferation in certain subjects.

Keywords: Eosinophilia; biological; etanercept; golimumab; hematologic side effects; tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors.