Severe infections remain common in a real-world rheumatoid arthritis cohort: A simple clinical model to predict infection risk.

To the best of our knowledge, this was one of the first Australian studies to evaluate severe infection rates in a real-world RA cohort. The rates remained high and comparable with those of the older studies. Lymphopenia, disease activity, comorbidity burden, and previous severe infection were the independent risk factors for infection. A model comprising easily assessable clinical and biological parameters has an excellent predictive potential for severe infection. Once validated, it may be developed into a screening tool to help clinicians rapidly identify the high-risk patients and inform the tailored clinical decision making.