Start Of Biological Treatment Research Articles

Lipid profile and NT-proBNP changes from pre-clinical to established rheumatoid arthritis: A 12 years follow-up explorative study

ObjectivesThe aim of the current study was to explore the changes in lipid and NT-proBNP levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients through different phases of the disease: from the pre-clinical stage and RA onset up to the treatment phase with biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDS). MethodsThirty-eight consecutive patients, initially with arthralgia and rheumatoid factor and/or anti-citrullinated protein antibodies without arthritis, who later developed RA and eventually started treatment with bDMARDs, were included. Lipid spectrum and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels were measured longitudinally from several months before diagnosis through treatment with bDMARDs. ResultsFrom baseline, C-reactive protein (CPR) initially increased sharply, decreasing with the start of biological treatment. Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c) remained stable, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) increased, apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1 and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)), and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-c ratio and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) decreased during follow-up. NT-proBNP closely followed progression of CRP. TC, LDL-c, TC/HDL-c ratio, ApoA and ApoB inverse correlated with CRP, while Lp(a) positively correlated. HDL-c and triglycerides showed no correlation. ConclusionChanges in the lipid profile and NT-proBNP in RA patients seem to be related to inflammation, with changes reflecting an increase in CVD risk occurring along with rises in CRP levels. These changes seem to already be present at diagnosis, indicating the need for timely control of inflammation.

Evaluación clínica, bioquímica, endoscópica e histopatológica del tratamiento biológico de colitis ulcerativa

Background: Biological treatment is currently used as an alternative for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in patient’s refractory to conventional treatment. Objective: To evaluate biological treatment in patients with ulcerative colitis refractory to conventional treatment in a 3rd level care Hospital. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective, longitudinal study was carried out in patients with UC who were refractory to conventional treatment and who received biological treatment. The variables were evaluated in 3 moments: basal state (without biological treatment), at six and twelve months from the start of biological treatment. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize general population, later the 3 states mentioned above were described with their respective variables. Results: Eighteen patients with a mean age of 41.2 years were included. Evaluations at baseline and at 6 and 12 months showed: presence of blood in stools and abdominal pain in 94.4%%, 22.2% and 11.1% respectively; hemoglobin concentration >10.5 g/dl in 50%, 83.3% and 88.9%; serum albumin concentration >3.2 g/dl in 72.2%, 83.3% and 88.9%; the visual Mayo endoscopic scale 38.9%, 33.3% and 16.7% presented Mayo 2 and 61.1%, 16.7% and 1.7% Mayo 3. The histological activity in the baseline evaluation reached a severe level (11.1%), while in evaluations at 6 and 12 months they reached moderate in 55.6% and 27.8% respectively. Conclusions: Biological therapy as a treatment in patients with ulcerative colitis showed improvement in clinical, biochemical, endoscopic and histological manifestations, so far none with deep remission of the disease, no adverse reactions to treatment have been presented.

Real-World Effects of Biologics on Renal Function in Psoriatic Patients: A Retrospective Study.

Patients with severe psoriasis are prone to deterioration of renal function. Whether biologics with potent anti-inflammatory action can prevent deterioration of renal function in psoriatic patients was unclear. To investigate the effects of different biologics on renal function in patients with severe psoriasis. By using the Chang Gung Research Database in Taiwan during 2006-2018, we analyzed the changes in renal function of psoriatic patients from 2 years before biologic treatments to baseline (start of biologic treatment) to after 2 years' treatment with different classes of biologics (anti-TNF, anti-IL-12/23, and anti-IL-17 agents). The renal function was evaluated by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the staging of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We further analyzed the risk factors of progression on the staging of CKD during biologics treatment. We included 601 patients with severe psoriasis receiving continuous use of biologics for ≥ 2 years. We detected no significant differences between pre-biologic treatment with conventional systemic treatment and post-biologic treatment in the levels of eGFR and progression of CKD staging among psoriatic patients receiving different classes of biologics. Most patients (97.8%) remained at stable CKD stage, while progression of CKD stage over time occurred in 13 patients (2.2%), with seven treated with anti-TNF biologics and six treated with anti-IL-12/23 biologics. Of note, all 52 patients receiving anti-IL-17 biologics had stable CKD. Progression of CKD during biologics use was associated with lower baseline levels of eGFR, higher baseline CKD stage, older age, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Further multiple logistic regression analysis showed diabetes as an independent factor for the deterioration of renal function during biologic treatment. Biologic treatments failed to improve but did not worsen renal function of psoriatic patients during a 2-year follow-up period. Diabetes is an important risk factor for the deterioration of renal function.

P425 Rates of tuberculosis infection in Crohn’s Disease patients before and during anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy

Abstract Background In the last, 20 years, IBD treatment has made great progress with the implementation of biological drugs. Although the use of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (anti-TNF-α) agents is highly effective in achieving and maintaining remission, 1, anti-TNF-α agents are associated with a, 5-fold increased risk of reactivation of various opportunistic infections, including TBI, 2,3. Our study aims to determine the incidence of TBI (active tuberculosis (ATBI) and latent tuberculosis (LTBI)) among patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) receiving anti-TNF-α therapy. Methods For the period between June, 2010 to December, 2019, we performed a retrospective analysis of a total of, 109 CD patients, screened before the start of biological treatment. Anti-TNF-α therapy was initiated by, 97 patients, 74 of whom were retested for TBI during follow-up. All patients were BCG vaccinated. Results Before starting biological treatment, we etablished LTBI in, 11/109 (10.1%):, 8/11 (72.7%) patients were TST (+) alone, 2/11 (18.2%) were IGRA (+) and TST (-), 1/11 (9.1%) were both IGRA and TST (+). Chest x-ray abnormalities were not detected in all, 11 patients. After prophylaxis with isoniazid (INH), 300 mg / daily for, 9 months, 9/11 (83.3%) patients with LTBI reached treatment with an anti-TNF α agent. Of this group, 7/9 (77.8%) patients were retested for TBI:, 6/7 (85,7%) were TST and IGRA were (-), and one (14,3%) developed active pulmonary tuberculosis. Two patients were lost to follow up. In the follow-up of patients under anti-TNF-α therapy, 74/97 (76.3%) patients were retested for TBI, with median duration of anti-TNF-a therapy was, 24 (IQR, 6–90) months. A total of, 16/74 (21.6%) patients were newly diagnosed with LTBI:, 5/16 (31.3%) had TST conversion alone, 8/16 (50.0%) were TST(+) and IGRA (-), 1/16, 6.3%) were both TST and IGRA (+), 1/16 (6.3%) had IGRA conversion alone, 1/16 (6.3%) were TST (-) and IGRA (+). ATBI developed in, 3/74 (4.1%) patients, one of them on the background of chemoprophylaxis with INH for LTBI. Median duration after the first dose of biologic therapy to detection of TBI was, 12 (IQR, 6–60) months. Conclusion This study instruct the clinician to be specifically vigilant when initiating anti-TNF-α therapy in IBD patients, because reactivation of TBI is a life-threatening complication in immunosuppressed patients.

P603 Patient characteristics and adverse effects in biologic treatment of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: A nationwide Danish cohort study years 2015–2018

Abstract Background Biological therapies have demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), but comparative analyses of the various treatments remain limited. Methods Using Danish national registries, we performed a nationwide cohort study including all bio-naïve individuals diagnosed with UC or CD initiating treatment with infliximab (IFX), adalimumab (ADA), vedolizumab (VDZ), golimumab (GOL), or ustekinumab (UST) during 2015–2018. The hazard ratios (HR) of hospitalization, surgery, and start of corticosteroid therapy were explored using Cox regression adjusted for health-related and socio-economic parameters at treatment initiation. Results More than 90% of 1,836 CD and 1,886 UC patients had IFX as first-line treatment. Patients with ADA, VDZ, UST or GOL as first-line treatment were older at diagnosis and start of biologic treatment. A larger proportion were women, had higher education, and had previously had IBD surgery. We observed a higher risk of all-cause hospitalization (HR: 1.56 (95% CI: 1.16; 2.10)) among CD patients with ADA as first-line treatment compared to IFX. No risk difference was observed of IBD hospitalization, IBD related surgery, or use of corticosteroids between ADA- and IFX-treated CD patients. We observed no risk difference between ADA- and IFX-treated UC patients for any outcomes. For both CD and UC patients, analyses of VDZ were based on very low number of cases and the results were inconclusive. Analyses of GOL and UST were not possible because of low numbers. Second-line treatment with VDZ compared to ADA among CD patients previously treated with IFX showed no risk difference of all-cause hospitalization (1.32 (0.91; 1.92)), IBD hospitalization (1.27 (0.68; 2.35)), IBD related surgery (1.41 (0.69; 2.85)), or use of corticosteroids (0.70 (0.27; 1.82)). Among UC patients, second-line VDZ was associated with an increased risk of IBD related surgery (1.94 (1.01; 3.71)), but not of all-cause hospitalization (0.77 (0.48; 1.24)), IBD hospitalization (0.75 (0.38; 1.46)), or corticosteroid use (0.92 (0.37; 2.28)) compared to ADA. Conclusion We observed increased risk of hospitalization among CD patients treated with ADA compared to IFX, and increased risk of IBD-related surgery in UC patients receiving VDZ as second line treatment compared to ADA. The differences in key baseline characteristics patients initiating biologic treatment with ADA, VDZ, UST or GOL compared to IFX might reflect differences in disease state, that justify deviations from treatment guideline. It should be further investigated if the associations are an effect of differences in treatment efficacy and safety or confounding by differences in disease state at treatment start.

Furin Expression in Patients With Psoriasis-A Patient Cohort Endangered to SARS-COV2?

Background: SARS-Cov2 has raised concerns among dermatologists regarding psoriasis and its respective treatments. Comorbidities, which induce the expression of the proprotease furin have been associated with severe course of COVID-19. Furin and angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) play a major role in viral host cell entry of SARS-Cov2.Objective: To evaluate mRNA expression of Furin and ACE2 from blood cells in psoriasis patients, and whether systemic or topical treatment reduces expression levels.Methods: This observational translational study analyzed blood samples from patients from a clinical trial and samples retrieved from the biobank of the Psoriasis Registry Austria (PsoRA). Furin and ACE2 expression levels were analyzed prior to as well as 3 and 12–24 months after start of biologic treatment with either ustekinumab or secukinumab. Additionally, the study analyzed expression levels prior to, 6 days after start of dithranol treatment and 4–6 weeks after end of dithranol treatment.Results: Furin mRNA expression was significantly increased at baseline in the biologic (4.9 ± 2.6 fold, p < 0.0001) and in the dithranol group (2.7 ± 1.4 fold, p < 0.001) compared to controls. There was a trend for arthritis patients to express more furin than patients with psoriatic skin involvement only (5.26 ± 2.30 vs. 3.48 ± 2.27, p = 0.078). Analyzing furin mRNA expression after treatment initiation with secukinumab or ustekinumab revealed a normalization of levels after 3 and 12 to 24 months. Similar findings were obtained for patients treated with dithranol, with significantly decreased expression levels 6 days after start of dithranol treatment and also at follow-up, (4–6 weeks after dithranol treatment had been terminated). ACE2 expression levels did not differ from controls at any timepoint, regardless of biologic or topical treatment.Conclusion: Significantly overexpressed levels of furin were observed in untreated patients, and, thus, these patients may be at risk for infection and a severe course of COVID-19. However, the data indicate that successful therapeutic intervention in psoriasis, by systemic biologic or topical treatment, can efficiently reduce furin levels in blood cells, possibly limiting the risk of psoriasis patients for a severe COVID-19 course.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02752672.

The Danish severe asthma register: an electronic platform for severe asthma management and research

ABSTRACT The evaluation and management of severe asthma patients require collection of comprehensive information, which is often a challenge in a busy outpatient clinic. The Danish Severe Asthma Register (DSAR) was designed as an electronic patient record form that captures operational clinical data and provides a clinical overview of the severe asthma patient. DSAR is a nationwide register; all patients in Denmark who are treated with biologics for severe asthma are included, and data are as a minimum entered at start of biological treatment, after four and 12 months of treatment, and hereafter annually. Currently, there are data from 621 treatment courses with biologics included in DSAR, with 71% of patients treated with anti-IL-5 drugs and 29% with an anti-IgE drug. Patients enter Patient Reported Outcome Measures electronically on tablets when they arrive in the outpatient clinic and their answers are immediately available to the clinician during the consultation. Nurses and doctors enter clinical data into DSAR during the consultation. DSAR offers immediate access to well-presented longitudinal overview and automatically creates a journal output that can be copy-pasted into the hospital’s existing health record form. DSAR is also currently expanding with an app, to be used for monitoring of home-treatment. In addition to serving as an electronic patient record form, DSAR will also provide opportunities to monitor the real-life efficacy of biological treatment for severe asthma in Denmark, and it will be a valuable research platform that will aid in answering important research questions on severe asthma in the future.

Influence of age on the occurrence of adverse events in rheumatic patients at the onset of biological treatment: data from the BIOBADASER III register

ObjectivesTo assess whether age, at the beginning of biologic treatment, is associated with the time a first adverse event (AE) appears in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).MethodsAll patients in the BIOBADASER registry diagnosed with RA, AS, and PsA, and classified as young (< 25 years old), adult (25–64 years old), elderly (65–75 years old) or very elderly (> 75 years old) at start of biological treatment were included. Factors associated with the appearance of a first AE using adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) (Poisson regression) were analyzed. Survival to first AE was studied by Kaplan-Meier analysis and hazard ratios (HR) by Cox regression.Results2483 patients were included: 1126 RA, 680 PsA, and 677 AS. Age group stratification was as follows: 63 young, 2127 adults, 237 elderly, and 56 very elderly. Regression model revealed an increased probability of suffering a first AE at age 65 years or older [IRR elderly: 1.42 (CI95% 1.13–1.77)]. Other characteristics associated with AE were female gender, the use of DMARDs, including methotrexate, the presence of comorbidities, and the time of disease duration. Factors that had the greatest impact on survival over a first AE were age > 75 years [HR 1.50 (1.01–2.24)] and female gender [HR 1.42 (1.22–1.64)].ConclusionAge at the start of treatment and female gender are key factors associated with the appearance of a first AE with biologics. Other factors related to patient status and treatment were also associated with a first AE in rheumatic patients treated with biologics.

P293 Loss of response after first-line biologic therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: practical approach and management

Abstract Background Anti-tumour necrosis factors (anti-TNFs) have greatly improved therapeutic strategies for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). However, a significant number of patients do not respond or lose response over time (LOR). The aim of this retrospective prospective study was to evaluate patients (patients) treated with anti-TNFs as first-line treatment, with subsequent LOR, defined as recurrence of disease activity during maintenance therapy. We determine the prevalence of LOR and its management. Methods Three-hundred forty patients with IBDs were included: 65% had Crohn’s disease and 35% ulcerative colitis. Mean age at diagnosis was 31,5 years and medium time between diagnosis and start of biologic treatment was 72 months. Among 300 patients treated with anti-TNFs, LOR occurred in 33%, 38% was in treatment with Infliximab, 55% with Adalimumab, and 7% with Golimumab and it was statistically related with smoke (p = 0.028), type of drug (p = 0.001) and with the duration of treatment (p = 0.019). Results Among patients with LOR, 88% had a persistent clinical activity, evaluated by clinical scores (HBI and pMayo score) and 56% had a persistent endoscopic activity, evaluated by endoscopic scores (SES-CD and Mayo). After the LOR, 56% of patients optimised treatment for medium time of 7,8 month, 31% switched to another Anti-TNF, 7% swapped to a different class of biologics (Vedolizumab or Ustekinumab) and 4% had surgery as a treatment strategy. During treatment with anti-TNF as second-line treatment, LOR occurred in 17 patients. Anti-TNFs was the third line therapy in 3 patients, while Vedolizumab in 13. Only 2 patients in treatment with Vedolizumab had a second LOR and started Ustekinumab. Conclusion Loss of response occurred frequently in patients treated with biologics. Optimisation of treatment was not efficacious during a long period and the use of another biologic (anti-TNF or another class) is the more suitable strategy in our centre, with success in 35% of patients who lose response.

Analysis of drug utilization and health care resource consumption in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis before and after treatment with biological therapies.

ObjectivesTo describe the therapeutic pathways of patients with psoriasis (PSO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) before and after treatment with biological therapies in a real-world setting and to determine the relative consumption of health care resources.DesignRetrospective observational study.SettingReal-life clinical setting in 5 Italian local health units.ParticipantsA total of 351 male and female patients with at least 1 prescription for a biological drug from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013; patients with concomitant rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or Crohn’s disease were excluded.ResultsThe major health care cost (excluding drug costs) was represented by hospitalizations, mainly related to PSO /PsA-associated disorders and cardiometabolic disorders. Use of conventional drugs among biologics-naïve patients reached 50% in PSO and 80% in PsA; their use decreased following initiation of biological therapy. After the start of biological treatment, the incidence of hospitalization decreased both for PSO (from 12.3% to 3.2% in day hospital regimen and from 2.4% to 0.4% for conventional admission) and for PsA (from 11.1% to 8.1% and from 10.1% to 3.0%, respectively). Mean annual costs for hospitalization before biological treatment were €217 and €537 for PSO and PsA, respectively, while mean annual cost for concomitant drugs slightly increased after biologics initiation: from €249.8 to €269.4 for PSO and from €331.8 to €346.9 for PsA. The major consumption of health care resources occurred in the quarter preceding the beginning of biological treatment.ConclusionThe consumption of health resources is mostly related to hospitalization, seems to peak during the quarter before the beginning of biologics therapies, and subsequently decreases after biologics initiation. Further studies should focus on prescription scheme and economic burden of PSO and PsA in Italy to help optimize health care resources and potentiate services for patients.

The journey of adult psoriasis patients towards biologics: past and present - Results from the BioCAPTURE registry.

A considerable disease period often precedes initiation of a biologic in patients with psoriasis. Little is known about this important period in patients' lives. Evaluation of this 'journey' can reveal important insights and opportunities for physicians and healthcare decision makers. (i) To describe patient and treatment characteristics until the start of biologic treatment in patients with severe psoriasis, (ii) to assess shifts in early (2005-2009) versus established (2010-2015) biologics prescription periods, (iii) to assess changes in hospital/day care admissions before vs. after starting biologics. Explorative, retrospective study on the treatment characteristics of the disease period until first biologic, presented with descriptive statistics of patients included in the BioCAPTURE registry. Journeys of 2005-2009 and 2010-2015 were compared with statistical tests to identify important shifts. Median TUS (time until conventional systemic) was 11.0 years and median TUB (time until biologic) was 18.9 years for all patients treated from 2005 to 2015. Most patients received three different conventional antipsoriatic systemic therapies. We noticed a small trend towards a shorter journey (TUB) with only two conventional systemic agents instead of three before initiating a biologic in later years (2010-2015, vs. 2005-2009). We also noticed a significant decrease in (day care) admissions comparing the two years before, versus the first two years after the start of a biologic treatment (17.7 vs. 8.6 admissions/100 follow-up years, P < 0.001). Cyclosporine, intensive topical treatment (dithranol), retinoids and PUVA therapy lost popularity in recent years. The 'journey' of patients with psoriasis towards a biologic is still long and characterized by many different treatments. Shifts towards fewer conventional drugs before biologic initiation and a clear decrease in hospital and day care admissions before vs. after a biologic are seen. Improvement of this journey, especially in young or recently diagnosed patients, can decrease negative influences on patients' lives and reduce societal impact.

Biological therapy in arthritis patients with hepatitis B or C infection: a multicenter retrospective case series.

Reactivation of viral hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) has been reported in various case reports of patients with arthritis on biological therapy. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of arthritis patients with HBV or HCV treated with biological therapy. This is a retrospective case series including all patients above 13 years of age with arthritis patients from four centers in Saudi Arabia with concurrent chronic viral hepatitis infection (HBV or HCV) who received biological agents in the rheumatology clinics during their course of their disease from duration of the disease onset until last outpatient visit up to November 2015. Demographic information, full details about the hepatitis status of each patient, rheumatic disease diagnosis and different therapies used were reviewed. We identified 10 cases each with HBV and HCV on biological therapy. The mean age in the HBV group was 51 (34-85) years and 80% were females. Eight patients had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one patient had RA/systemic lupus erythematosus, and one had human immunodeficiency virus related-arthritis. Seven were chronic inactive HBsAg carriers and three had chronic active HBV. Nine HBV patients received prophylactic antiviral therapy. Two cases with chronic HBV had reactivation with no elevation of the transaminases.The mean age in the HCV group was 54 (23-79) years and all were female RA patients. Three had detectable hepatitis C virus-ribonuecleic acid (HCV-RNA) before the start of biological therapy. Nine HCV patients received antiviral treatment and seven had a sustained virologic response (SVR) before start of biological treatment. Three patients had detectable HCV-RNA during the course of biological therapy. One of the three was a non-responder and two were relapsers. One of the patients with HCV relapse was started on sofosbuvir plus ribavirin and achieved SVR on follow-up. We report the successful use of biological therapy in arthritis patients with hepatitis B infection with antiviral therapy with no detoriation of their viral status. Due to the lack of sufficient prospective studies demonstrating the rate of HCV flare on biological therapy, caution should be exercised and careful monitoring with liver enzymes and viral load is mandated in vulnerable HCV RNA patients. Treatment should be individualized by the rheumatologist in collaboration with the hepatologist to minimize complications.

Exploring the Inflammatory Metabolomic Profile to Predict Response to TNF-α Inhibitors in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

In clinical practice, approximately one-third of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) respond insufficiently to TNF-α inhibitors (TNFis). The aim of the study was to explore the use of a metabolomics to identify predictors for the outcome of TNFi therapy, and study the metabolomic fingerprint in active RA irrespective of patients’ response. In the metabolomic profiling, lipids, oxylipins, and amines were measured in serum samples of RA patients from the observational BiOCURA cohort, before start of biological treatment. Multivariable logistic regression models were established to identify predictors for good- and non-response in patients receiving TNFi (n = 124). The added value of metabolites over prediction using clinical parameters only was determined by comparing the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC), sensitivity, specificity, positive- and negative predictive value and by the net reclassification index (NRI). The models were further validated by 10-fold cross validation and tested on the complete TNFi treatment cohort including moderate responders. Additionally, metabolites were identified that cross-sectionally associated with the RA disease activity score based on a 28-joint count (DAS28), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or C-reactive protein (CRP). Out of 139 metabolites, the best-performing predictors were sn1-LPC(18:3-ω3/ω6), sn1-LPC(15:0), ethanolamine, and lysine. The model that combined the selected metabolites with clinical parameters showed a significant larger AUC-ROC than that of the model containing only clinical parameters (p = 0.01). The combined model was able to discriminate good- and non-responders with good accuracy and to reclassify non-responders with an improvement of 30% (total NRI = 0.23) and showed a prediction error of 0.27. For the complete TNFi cohort, the NRI was 0.22. In addition, 88 metabolites were associated with DAS28, ESR or CRP (p<0.05). Our study established an accurate prediction model for response to TNFi therapy, containing metabolites and clinical parameters. Associations between metabolites and disease activity may help elucidate additional pathologic mechanisms behind RA.

THU0291 Forward to Good Practice in Vaccination against Hepatitis B in Rheumatic Patients with Biological Therapies

BackgroundThe increasingly frequent use of biologic agents in rheumatic diseases implies the existence of a large number of patients at risk of reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Rheumatic patients...

FRI0542 Course of Biotherapies in A Large Cohort of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis at Adulthood

BackgroundFew studies focused on the course of biotherapies in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Results of these studies showed that anti-TNFalpha drug survival was comparable to adult rheumatoid arthritis. However, these...

SAT0447 Preliminary Definition of Cutoffs for High Disease Activity Based on Original and Simplified Jadas in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

BackgroundIn the last decade, there have been major advances in the management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which include the shift towards early aggressive interventions and the development of new...

FRI0203 Tuberculosis in rheumatic patients treated with biological therapies – is screening enough?

BackgroundAn increased risk of active tuberculosis (TB) has been reported in patients with rheumatic diseases treated with biological therapies, especially anti-TNF monoclonal antibodies. Most TB cases result from an activation...

Changing pattern in the prescription of biological treatment in rheumatoid arthritis. A 7-year follow-up of 1839 patients in southern Sweden

Objective: To study prescription patterns of biological treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in southern Sweden, a region with no formal or economic restrictions for the use of biological treatment...