Baseline characteristics of patients in the study population*
| Abatacept | Tocilizumab | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | All patients (n=150) | Patients with baseline DAS28 and ≥1 follow-up (n=104) | All patients (n=178) | Patients with baseline DAS28 and ≥1 follow-up (n=97) |
| Male sex (n (%)) | 34 (23) | 23 (22) | 42 (24) | 25 (26) |
| Age (years) | 55 (22–85) | 54 (23–82) | 56 (20–81) | 56 (20–81) |
| Disease duration (years) | 8.5 (1–45) | 8 (1–38) | 9 (1–51) | 7 (1–45) |
| Number of previous DMARDs | 3 (0–8) | 3 (0–8) | 3 (0–8) | 3 (1–8) |
| Previous DMARDs (%) | ||||
| Azathioprine | 11 | 8 | 20 | 16 |
| Cyclophosphamide | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Ciclosporin | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
| Gold | 19 | 20 | 24 | 14 |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 45 | 47 | 48 | 54 |
| Leflunomide | 27 | 29 | 23 | 24 |
| MTX | 95 | 97 | 96 | 98 |
| Penicillamine | 11 | 9 | 14 | 14 |
| Sulfasalazine | 82 | 83 | 79 | 80 |
| Number of previous biological drugs | 2 (0–6) | 2 (0–6) | 2 (0–6) | 2 (0–6) |
| Previous biological DMARDs (%) | ||||
| Abatacept | – | – | 21† | 26 |
| Adalimumab | 65 | 64 | 60 | 60 |
| Anakinra | 8 | 11 | 4 | 5 |
| Certolizumab | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Etanercept | 77 | 82 | 68 | 75 |
| Infliximab | 63 | 63 | 59 | 63 |
| Rituximab | 16 | 19 | 20 | 15 |
| Tocilizumab | 7† | 3 | – | – |
| ≥1 TNFα inhibitor (n (%)) | 142 (95) | 101 (97) | 166 (93) | 95 (98) |
| ≥1 Biological drug of any kind (n (%)) | 145 (97) | 102 (98) | 169 (95) | 95 (98) |
| DAS28 | 5.3 (2.6–7.5) | 5.3 (2.6–7.5) | 5.4 (1.6–7.8) | 5.4 (1.6–7.8) |
| Concomitant MTX (n (%)) | 79 (53) | 70 (67) | 87 (49) | 65 (67) |
| MTX dosage (mg/week)‡ | 20 (10–25) | 17.5 (10–25) | 20 (10–25) | 20 (10–25) |
| Concomitant prednisolone (n (%)) | 56 (37) | 47 (45) | 56 (31) | 37 (38) |
| Prednisolone dosage (mg/day)‡ | 7.5 (5–10) | 7.5 (5–10) | 7.5 (5–10) | 6.25 (5–10) |
↵* Except where indicated otherwise, values are the median (range).
↵† 7% (n=11) of the patients in the abatacept group had previously been treated with tocilizumab and 21% (n=37) of the patients in the tocilizumab group had previously been treated with abatacept.
↵‡ Median (IQR) among patients receiving the drug.
DAS28, Disease Activity Score in 28 joints; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; MTX, methotrexate; TNFα, tumour necrosis factor α.