FRIDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) undergoing first treatment series with a tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitor have high drug adherence and a good response, according to a study published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Bente Glintborg, M.D., Ph.D., from Gentofte University Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark, and colleagues used a nationwide rheumatologic database to identify 764 PsA patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors. In the first six months of treatment, the clinical response was evaluated according to the American College of Rheumatology's 20 percent (ACR20), 50 percent (ACR50), or 70 percent (ACR70) improvement criteria or the European League Against Rheumatism's (EULAR) good response. The rate and duration of drug adherence and clinical response predictors were assessed.
The average duration of drug adherence was found to be 2.9 years; 70 percent of patients adhered to treatment for one year and 57 percent for two years. Longer adherence was associated with male gender, baseline C-reactive proteins greater than 10 mg/L, and concomitant methotrexate use. Improvement in the ACR20, ACR50, ACR70, and EULAR was 59, 45, 24, and 54 percent, respectively. Improved responses in all categories was predicted by a baseline C-reactive protein level greater than 10 mg/L.
"This analysis of 764 patients with PsA in a nationwide prospective registry documents that TNF-α inhibitors decrease the disease activity in patients with
PsA in clinical practice," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial relationships with Abbott, Amgen, Centocor, Pfizer, Schering-Plough/MSD, and other pharmaceutical companies.
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