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Abatacept, adalimumab showed similar improvements in patient-reported outcome measures
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis showed comparable improvements in clinical and patient-reported outcomes when taking subcutaneous abatacept or adalimumab, according to recent research.
“[T]his study demonstrated that in patients with [rheumatoid arthritis] RA who were biologics-naive, treatment with [subcutaneous] SC abatacept or adalimumab is associated with comparable improvements in [patient-reported outcomes] PROs that are considered particularly important in RA (pain, fatigue, work productivity, and activity limitation),” Roy Fleischmann, MD, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues wrote in their study. “Furthermore, improved PROs were associated with physician-reported clinical responses.”
Roy Fleischmann
Fleischmann and colleagues evaluated 318 patients who received subcutaneous abatacept and 328 patients who received adalimumab from the AMPLE trial. Patients were biologically naïve and also received background methotrexate, according to the abstract. Abatacept patients received a dosage of 125 mg/week, and adalimumab patients received a dosage of 40 mg every 2 weeks. Patients were followed for up to 2 years and asked to record outcomes of fatigue, pain, working ability and activities of daily living.
Investigators found comparable patient-reported outcomes for patients in both treatment groups, with results persisting to 2-year follow-up and showing clinically meaningful improvements from baseline to follow-up in patient-reported outcomes, according to the abstract. Specifically, pain improved in the abatacept group by 53.7% ± 6.2% at 2 years compared with an improvement of 38.5% ± 6.1% in the adalimumab group (mean treatment difference = 15.2%). The adjusted mean change in fatigue reached a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of -10 mm on a 100-mm VAS, with an improvement of 23.4 mm in the abatacept group and 21.5 mm in the adalimumab group at 2 years.
Regarding working ability and activities of daily living, both groups showed a MCID of 7% for 6-month, 1-year and 2-year follow-up, while improvements of up to 4 additional days of daily living were also seen at all follow-up periods. – by Jeff Craven
Disclosures: Fleischmann reports research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis and UCB, and is a paid consultant for AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis and UCB. Please see the full abstract for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.