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Efficacy and safety of anti-tumour necrosis factor in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis: An observational study
Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology, 06/30/09

Filippini M et al. – Study shows that anti-TNFα treatment reduced disease activity and led to functional improvement in both elderly and younger patients, although the baseline difference in HAQ remained statistically significant at the end of the follow-up. The elderly patients experienced more infective events.

Methods

A comparison of the efficacy and safety of anti-TNF agents in elderly (aged ≥65 yrs) and younger pts (aged 18–65 yrs) with active RA
1,114 RA pts, followed-up for >6 mo, were divided into 2 cohorts on the basis of their age to evaluate 3-yr outcomes and treatment discontinuations
Drug effectiveness was assessed by DAS28 and EULAR response, functional status (HAQ) and serological parameters (ESR) at baseline and during therapy
Safety was evaluated on the basis of drug discontinuation rates

Results

At baseline, the elderly pts showed greater disease activity and loss of joint function
During therapy, clinical and laboratory parameters improved in both groups w/o any difference between them
Difference in HAQ remained after 36 mo of treatment
Anti-TNFα therapy was discontinued by 42% elderly and 36.6% of younger pts because of loss of efficacy, severe adverse events or other reasons
Number of AEs was higher in the elderly patients

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