Efficacy of Anti-TNF Agents as Adjunctive Therapy for Knee Synovitis Refractory to Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Patients with Peripheral Spondyloarthritis
Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the studied patients.
Parameter
All patients ()
Knee synovitis responders ()
Knee synovitis nonresponders ()
Age (years)
43.3 ± 2.9
43.1 ± 3.2
44.7 ± 1.3
Age at disease onset (years)
36.0 ± 2.6
36.7 ± 2.8
30.7 ± 1.3
Time interval between initiation of DMARDs and anti-TNF agent (months)
11.4 ± 1.1
11.3 ± 1.3
11.9 ± 0.5
Male gender
19 (70.4)
16 (66.6)
3 (100.0)
Disease subtype
AS
2 (7.4)
2 (8.3)
0 (0.0)
PsA
17 (63.0)
14 (58.3)
3 (100.0)
unSpA
8 (29.6)
8 (33.3)
0 (0.0)
HLA-B27*
Positive
4 (66.6)
4 (66.6)
—
Negative
2 (33.4)
2 (33.4)
—
Pattern of DMARD therapy before addition of anti-TNF agent
Monotherapy
21 (77.8)
18 (75.0)
3 (100.0)
Combination
6 (22.2)
6 (25.0)
0 (0.0)
Pattern of arthritis on anti-TNF initiation
Monoarthritis
8 (29.6)
6 (25.0)
2 (66.6)
Oligoarthritis (inflamed joints <4)
19 (70.4)
18 (75.0)
1 (33.4)
Current therapy
Anti-TNF monotherapy
14 (51.9)
12 (50.0)
2 (66.6)
Anti-TNF + DMARD
13 (48.1)
12 (50.0)
1 (33.4)
DMARDs: disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; TNF: tumour necrosis factor; AS: ankylosing spondylitis; PsA: psoriatic arthritis; unSpA: undifferentiated spondyloarthritis.
*Included only the patients with known HLA-B27 status (). Values given as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) or (%).
