Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice
Plain Language Summary Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can lead to joint damage and disability. The steroid prednisone is a fast-acting and effective treatment for RA and is often prescribed alongside disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The health risks ass...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Adis, Springer Healthcare
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Rheumatology and Therapy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40744-019-0162-6 |
| _version_ | 1818509368733204480 |
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| author | Dimitrios A. Pappas Carol J. Etzel Steve Zlotnick Jennie Best Taylor Blachley Joel M. Kremer |
| author_facet | Dimitrios A. Pappas Carol J. Etzel Steve Zlotnick Jennie Best Taylor Blachley Joel M. Kremer |
| author_sort | Dimitrios A. Pappas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plain Language Summary Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can lead to joint damage and disability. The steroid prednisone is a fast-acting and effective treatment for RA and is often prescribed alongside disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The health risks associated with the long-term use of prednisone have led to recommendations to minimize prednisone dose and duration of treatment. Few studies have examined the extent to which biologic DMARDs allow rheumatologists to reduce or discontinue the use of prednisone. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in prednisone dose while receiving tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with RA seen in routine US clinical practice. Patients who were enrolled in the Corrona RA registry and were beginning treatment with TCZ were included. Changes in prednisone use were evaluated 12 months after starting treatment. Of patients receiving prednisone at study initiation, 30.6% had discontinued prednisone over 12 months; among patients receiving > 7.5 mg of prednisone at the time of TCZ initiation, 63.0% discontinued prednisone or decreased the dose by ≥ 5 mg over 12 months. In secondary analyses, 29.7% of patients receiving prednisone at study initiation had discontinued prednisone over 6 months; among those receiving > 7.5 mg of prednisone at baseline, 51.3% discontinued or decreased the dose by ≥ 5 mg over 6 months. Changes in prednisone use and improvement in disease activity over 6 and 12 months were comparable between patients who initiated TCZ monotherapy or combination therapy with other DMARDs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:44:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b8f8960d51e74f3291b1367e51554c6d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2198-6576 2198-6584 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:44:36Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | Adis, Springer Healthcare |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Rheumatology and Therapy |
| spelling | doaj.art-b8f8960d51e74f3291b1367e51554c6d2022-12-22T01:30:38ZengAdis, Springer HealthcareRheumatology and Therapy2198-65762198-65842019-06-016342143310.1007/s40744-019-0162-6Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical PracticeDimitrios A. Pappas0Carol J. Etzel1Steve Zlotnick2Jennie Best3Taylor Blachley4Joel M. Kremer5Columbia UniversityCorrona, LLCGenentech, IncGenentech, IncCorrona, LLCCorrona, LLCPlain Language Summary Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can lead to joint damage and disability. The steroid prednisone is a fast-acting and effective treatment for RA and is often prescribed alongside disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The health risks associated with the long-term use of prednisone have led to recommendations to minimize prednisone dose and duration of treatment. Few studies have examined the extent to which biologic DMARDs allow rheumatologists to reduce or discontinue the use of prednisone. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in prednisone dose while receiving tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with RA seen in routine US clinical practice. Patients who were enrolled in the Corrona RA registry and were beginning treatment with TCZ were included. Changes in prednisone use were evaluated 12 months after starting treatment. Of patients receiving prednisone at study initiation, 30.6% had discontinued prednisone over 12 months; among patients receiving > 7.5 mg of prednisone at the time of TCZ initiation, 63.0% discontinued prednisone or decreased the dose by ≥ 5 mg over 12 months. In secondary analyses, 29.7% of patients receiving prednisone at study initiation had discontinued prednisone over 6 months; among those receiving > 7.5 mg of prednisone at baseline, 51.3% discontinued or decreased the dose by ≥ 5 mg over 6 months. Changes in prednisone use and improvement in disease activity over 6 and 12 months were comparable between patients who initiated TCZ monotherapy or combination therapy with other DMARDs.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40744-019-0162-6PrednisoneRegistryRheumatoid arthritisTocilizumab |
| spellingShingle | Dimitrios A. Pappas Carol J. Etzel Steve Zlotnick Jennie Best Taylor Blachley Joel M. Kremer Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice Rheumatology and Therapy Prednisone Registry Rheumatoid arthritis Tocilizumab |
| title | Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice |
| title_full | Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice |
| title_fullStr | Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice |
| title_short | Patterns of Prednisone Use in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating Treatment with Tocilizumab in Routine US Clinical Practice |
| title_sort | patterns of prednisone use in patients with rheumatoid arthritis initiating treatment with tocilizumab in routine us clinical practice |
| topic | Prednisone Registry Rheumatoid arthritis Tocilizumab |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40744-019-0162-6 |
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