Rheumatoid Arthritis

You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

Frequency and effectiveness of dose increase of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab in daily clinical practice

  1. M. Blom1,*,
  2. W. Kievit1,
  3. H. H. Kuper2,
  4. T. L. Jansen3,
  5. H. Visser4,
  6. A. A. den Broeder5,
  7. H. L. M. Brus6,
  8. M. A. F. J. van de Laar2,
  9. P. L. C. M. van Riel1,‖

Article first published online: 2 SEP 2010

DOI: 10.1002/acr.20211

Issue

Arthritis Care & Research

Arthritis Care & Research

Volume 62, Issue 9, pages 1335–1341, September 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Blom, M., Kievit, W., Kuper, H. H., Jansen, T. L., Visser, H., den Broeder, A. A., Brus, H. L. M., van de Laar, M. A. F. J. and van Riel, P. L. C. M. (2010), Frequency and effectiveness of dose increase of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab in daily clinical practice. Arthritis Care Res, 62: 1335–1341. doi: 10.1002/acr.20211

Author Information

  1. 1

    Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

  2. 2

    Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

  3. 3

    Medical Centre Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

  4. 4

    Alysis Care Group, Arnhem, The Netherlands

  5. 5

    Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

  6. 6

    Twee Steden Hospital, Tilburg, The Netherlands

  1. ‖

    Dr. van Riel has received consultancy fees, speaking fees, and/or honoraria (less than $10,000 each) from Wyeth, Schering-Plough, Abbott, and Roche.

*Department of Rheumatology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, H 470, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 2 SEP 2010
  2. Article first published online: 2 SEP 2010
  3. Accepted manuscript online: 9 APR 2010 12:00AM EST
  4. Manuscript Accepted: 31 MAR 2010
  5. Manuscript Received: 9 JAN 2010

Funded by

  • Dutch Rheumatoid Arthritis Monitoring cohort was supported by the Dutch National Health Insurance Board
  • Dutch affiliations of Wyeth, Abbott, Schering-Plough, Roche, UCB, and Bristol-Myers Squibb

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (89K)

Abstract

Objective

To describe the frequency and effectiveness of dose increase of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in daily clinical practice.

Methods

All RA patients with a dose increase of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)–blocking therapy between January 1997 and January 2008 were selected from a register including data from RA patients starting a first TNF-blocking agent (the Dutch Rheumatoid Arthritis Monitoring registry). The primary outcome was change in Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) at 3 months after dose increase. Secondary outcomes were the change in DAS28 at 6 months after dose increase, the European League Against Rheumatism response rates, and the percentages of patients reaching a DAS28 of ≤3.2 at 3 and at 6 months after dose increase. Furthermore, the effectiveness of dose increase was assessed for the different reasons for dose increase: nonresponse, loss of response, and partial response.

Results

During the study period, the dose was increased in 44 (12%) of the 368 adalimumab patients, 32 (8%) of the 420 etanercept patients, and 115 (36%) of the 323 infliximab patients. The change in DAS28 at 3 months and 6 months after dose increase was limited and only significant in etanercept patients at 3 months (−0.51; P = 0.035). Disease activity decreased significantly at 3 months from dose increase in the nonresponders and patients with loss of response (−0.66 and −0.99, respectively; both P = 0.001), but not in the partial responders.

Conclusion

Although dose increase was applied in all 3 TNF-blocking agents in daily clinical practice, these results suggest that the effectiveness of dose increase is limited.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (89K)