| Popis: |
To examine the safety and effectiveness of long-term tocilizumab treatment in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and patients with age-associated comorbidities.ICHIBAN (NCT01194401) was a prospective, non-interventional study that observed adult patients with active moderate-to-severe RA in German rheumatology clinics and practices for up to two years. Patients were to be treated according to the tocilizumab label. Here, we present safety and effectiveness data analysed according to patient age.Of the 3,164 patients treated with at least one dose of tocilizumab, 924 patients were50 years old, 1496 patients were 50-65 years old, and 744 patients were65 years old at baseline. Patients65 years had the highest baseline DAS28-ESR, CDAI, and HAQ-DI scores, along with the highest burden of comorbidities, such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, anaemia, and renal insufficiency. Under treatment with tocilizumab, patients65 years had similar improvements in DAS28-ESR, CDAI and patient-reported outcomes (fatigue, pain, sleeplessness) with similar glucocorticoid savings compared to patient groups65 years. Patients65 years with late-onset RA achieved similar reductions in disease activity compared to early-onset patients. Despite numerically higher rates of adverse events (AEs), serious AEs and serious infections in patients65 years, there were similar rates of AEs leading to withdrawal.Elderly patients in ICHIBAN experienced improvements similar to younger patients in most effectiveness endpoints with only slightly higher rates of AEs, indicating an overall net-positive risk-benefit ratio of tocilizumab treatment regardless of patient age. |
