Higher Risk of Adverse Events When Biologic Infusions Are Done at Home

“It’s difficult to know for certain if the adverse events were directly associated with the biologic infusion,” says Gregory Calip, PharmD, MPH, PhD, a senior quantitative scientist at Flatiron Health, New York, and co-author of a commentary accompanying the study.²

Other factors—such as access to urgent care, co-medications and ability to monitor for mild infusion reactions that may not necessarily require emergency department or hospital visits if administered at a facility—could all affect the likelihood of patients seeking acute care, Dr. Calip says by email.

“It is possible that some adverse events occurring at a facility that has resources to immediately address them are resolved early, without the need for an emergency department visit or hospitalization,” Dr. Calip adds.

References

1. Baker MC, Weng Y, Fairchild R, et al. Comparison of adverse events among home- vs facility-administered biologic infusions, 2007–2017. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jun 1;4(6):e2110268.
2. Calip GS, Yerram P, Ascha MS. Nonrandomized comparison of adverse events following facility- and home-infused biologics using real-world data. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jun 1;4(6):e2111156.