Background: This pilot study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of baricitinib in relapsing polychondritis (RP) patients.

Objectives: Aim of this case report was to show efficacy of baricitinib in a patients with relapsing polychondritis.

Methods: A single-center, cohort analysis was performed to enroll RP patients who received baricitinib (2 mg per day) along with glucocorticoids (GC) and immunosuppressants. Efficacy assessment and side effects were recorded.

Results: 16 patients (12 males) were included with a mean follow-up of 12.7 ± 4.3 months. At 3 months of follow-up, 80.5% of patients achieved a complete response and the proportion increased to 90.2% at the one year follow up visit. During the follow-up, ESR (p < 0.01) and hsCRP (p < 0.0001) decreased significantly, as well as the relapsing polychondritis disease activity index (RPDAI) (p < 0.01). In addition, baricitinib showed a GCs-sparing effect. No serious adverse events were noted.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that baricitinib is well-tolerated and effective in treating relapsing polychondritis patients.

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[2] Moulis G, Pugnet G, Costedoat-Chalumeau N, et al. Efficacy and safety of biologics in relapsing polychondritis: a French national multicentre study. Ann Rheum Dis 2018;77:1172–8. DOI:10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-212705.

[3] Rednic S, Damian L, Talarico R, et al. Relapsing polychondritis: state of the art on clinical practice guidelines. RMD Open 2018;4:e000788. DOI:10.1136/rmdopen-2018-000788.

[4] Yoshida T, Yoshifuji H, Shirakashi M, et al. Risk factors for the recurrence of relapsing polychondritis. Arthritis Res Ther 2022;24:127. DOI:10.1186/s13075-022-02810-0.

Acknowledgements: NIL.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared.