Skip Navigation


Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on March 3, 2008
Rheumatology 2008 47(4):495-499; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/ken002
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
47/4/495    most recent
ken002v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kristensen, L. E.
Right arrow Articles by Geborek, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kristensen, L. E.
Right arrow Articles by Geborek, P.
Related Collections
Right arrow Rheumatoid Arthritis
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Predictors of response to anti-TNF therapy according to ACR and EULAR criteria in patients with established RA: results from the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group Register

L. E. Kristensen1, M. C. Kapetanovic1, A. Gülfe1, M. Söderlin2, T. Saxne1 and P. Geborek1

1Department of Rheumatology, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund and 2Department of Rheumatology, Spenshult, SE-313 92 Oskarström, Sweden.

Correspondence to: L. E. Kristensen, Department of Rheumatology, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. E-mail: larserik_kristensen{at}yahoo.com


  Abstract

Objective. To identify factors predicting response to first TNF blocking treatment course in patients with established RA with a special focus on gender differences.

Methods. Patients with active RA initiating their first treatment course of TNF-blocking therapy were enrolled. The study period was March 1999 through September 2006. The prospective protocol included information on demographics, clinical characteristics of patients and response measures. Fulfilment of ACR 50–70% improvement and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) good response or remission [28-joint disease activity score (DAS28) <2.6] at 3 months were chosen as primary outcome measures. Potential predictors of responses were identified using multivariate binary logistic regression models.

Results. In total, 1565 patients were included in the study. Gender did not influence treatment response. Consistently, concomitant methotrexate (MTX) was significantly associated with EULAR remission, EULAR good response, ACR50 response and ACR70 response with odds ratios (ORs) 1.97, 2.13, 2.10 and 1.75, respectively. Concurrent treatment with other DMARDs was also significantly associated with EULAR remission, EULAR good response and ACR50 response (OR: 1.96, 2.24 and 1.94, respectively). Likewise, low HAQ at baseline consistently predicted good clinical outcome. Disease activity at baseline was directly associated with favourable response when measured by ACR50 and ACR70 (OR: 1.59 and 1.60, respectively), whereas DAS28 score at baseline was inversely associated with EULAR remission (OR: 0.78).

Conclusions. In this observational study of patients with established RA, gender did not predict response to anti-TNF therapy, whereas treatment with concomitant DMARDs, especially MTX and low disability were associated with good response. Choice of outcome measures may influence the predictive value of baseline features.

KEY WORDS: Response, Anti-TNF-{alpha} therapy, Biologics register, Predictors, Rheumatoid arthritis

Submitted 10 August 2007; revised version accepted 2 January 2008.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.