This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.
Background: Since the publication of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2TRA) criteria¹, several studies have attempted to establish the most appropriate pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies for the management of these patients. However, data on the treatment of choice for patients who become D2TRA are still scarce. Objectives: To evaluate the survival of different biologic or targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARD) administered after fulfilling the D2TRA criteria. To assess clinical factors related to the survival of these treatments. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included D2TRA patients according to EULAR definition. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical and serological features and disease activity data were collected at the start of the 1st b/tsDMARD. The DAS28 was also collected at the start of the following treatment after meet D2T classification and at 6 months and patients were followed-up at least for one year. Drug retention of the subsequent line of b/tsDMARD was assessed by Kaplan–Meier plots using the log-rank test. Predictive factors affecting the discontinuation were evaluated using the univariate and multivariate analysis by the Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Of the 122 patients included, 75 maintained active treatment (61.5%) with the subsequent line after D2T compared to 37 patients (38.5%) who discontinued this treatment and required more sucessive lines of b/tsDMARDs. The treatments used after D2T were TNFi (17 patients), anti-IL6R (31 patients), abatacept (27 patients), rituximab (27 patients) and JAKi (20 patients). The mean survival of the treatments was 78.3 ± 7.6 months and the percentage of patients who maintained the treatment after D2T was 29.4% for TNFi, 29.6% for abatacept, 74.2 % for anti-IL6R, 88.9 % for rituximab and 75.0% for JAKi. Significant differences were assessed between different b/tsDMARDs (log-rank p<0.01) (Figure 1). To evaluate these differences, a Cox regression was performed taking each b/tsDMARD as a reference and comparing with the others. The main differences were found between TNFi and abatacept with rituximab, meanwhile, anti-IL6R and JAKi did not show significant differences (Table 1). Conclusion: Once patients meet D2TRA criteria, the subsequent line of b/tsDMARDs with the best survival is rituximab, followed by JAKi and anti-IL6R being TNFi and abatacept the choices with leass retention rate. Moreover, the DAS28 in the first 6 months of starting the treatment after D2T was an independent risk factor for drug survival. REFERENCES: [1] Nagy G et al. EULAR definition of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2021;80:31-5. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: Marta Novella-Navarro Lilly, UCB, Galapagos and Amgen, Virginia Ruiz: None declared, Natalia López-Juanes: None declared, Chafik Alejandro Chacur: None declared, Irene Monjo-Henry Lilly, UCB, Abbvie, Laura Nuño: None declared, Monica Giselle Kafati Sarmiento: None declared, Diana Peiteado: None declared, Alejandro Villalba: None declared, Elisa Fernández-Fernández: None declared, María Sanz-Jardón: None declared, Raimon Sanmarti: None declared, Chamaida Plasencia-Rodríguez Lilly, UCB, Amgen, Galapagos, Pfizer, Alejandro Balsa Roche, Lilly, Abbvie, Galapagos, UCB, Pfizer.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Novella-Navarro et al. (2024) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: