RESEARCH - No washout period needed with Orencia for TNF-refractory RA

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No Washout Period Needed With Abatacept for TNF-Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 12 - A direct switch to abatacept with

no washout period is safe and effective in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

patients with inadequate responses to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)

agents.

In the November issue of ls of the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. M.

Schiff of the University of Colorado, Greenwood Village and colleagues

report on an open-label study of 1046 such patients. Of the group, 597

directly switched to abatacept (~10 mg/kg), while the remainder did so

after stopping anti-TNF therapy for at least 2 months.

At 6 months, the direct switch and washout groups had comparable rates

of total adverse events (79.2% vs. 78.0%), serious adverse events

(9.9% vs. 11.19%), and discontinuations because of such events.

The direct switch and washout groups also showed comparable

proportions of patients with greater than 1.2 unit improvement in

disease activity score in 28 joints (53.6% and 59.5%, respectively).

Both groups also demonstrated a more than 20% increase in low activity

score.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712298

Not an MD