Abstract
Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) involves a high economic burden, particularly for patients who require hospitalization, the need for which is affected by several factors including disease duration, comorbidities, medications, and socioeconomic status. Method: We retrospectively reviewed all adult RA patients who visited King Abdulaziz University Hospital between 2010 and 2020. Results: A total of 190 RA patients were identified, 176 and 141 of whom were female and seropositive, respectively. The most common comorbidity was hypertension, followed by diabetes mellitus. The most common reason for admission was sleep studies, followed by elective drug infusions, most of which were for rituximab. There were 8 admissions for infection, 4 for pneumonia; 1 for pulmonary tuberculosis; and 1 each for osteomyelitis, pyelonephritis, and urosepsis. We identified 3 and 2 cases of acute coronary syndrome and breast cancer, respectively. Conclusion: The most common reason for hospitalization was biological drug infusion. Patients on biological treatments had an increased hospitalization risk secondary to infection, particularly lower respiratory tract infections. A national cohort for RA patients would help better understand this disease in our region.