Low doses of etanercept can be effective to maintain remission in ankylosing spondylitis patients

We wanted to do a prospective open-label study to evaluate if ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients in clinical remission with twice weekly etanercept (ETN) 25 mg therapy could be changed to weekly regimen or even to every other week regimen without increased dose for injection. Thirty-eight AS patie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical rheumatology 2014-05, Vol.33 (5), p.707-711
Main Authors: De Stefano, Renato, Frati, Elena, De Quattro, Davide, Menza, Luana, Manganelli, Stefania
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Brief Report
Drug Administration Schedule
Etanercept
Female
Humans
Immunoglobulin G - administration & dosage
Immunologic Factors - administration & dosage
Injections, Subcutaneous
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor - administration & dosage
Remission Induction
Rheumatology
Severity of Illness Index
Spondylitis, Ankylosing - drug therapy
Treatment Outcome
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - antagonists & inhibitors
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Summary:We wanted to do a prospective open-label study to evaluate if ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients in clinical remission with twice weekly etanercept (ETN) 25 mg therapy could be changed to weekly regimen or even to every other week regimen without increased dose for injection. Thirty-eight AS patients self-administered 25 mg of ETN (Wyett) subcutaneously. According to the protocol, patients who were in clinical partial remission with twice weekly ETN 25 mg at week 12 and 16 changed to a weekly regimen without a change of the dose. If clinical remission, despite the reduction of the dose, persists at week 24 and 28, patients changed to an every-other-week regimen, continuing with this administration schedule for the entire duration of the study if at week 36 and 46 clinical remission was maintained. At the end of the study, 18 patients (47 %) were still in remission, 4 (10 %) with a weekly regimen, and 14 (37 %) with an every-other-weekly regimen. Our study indicates that a consistent percentage of subjects with AS, treated with ETN 25 mg twice weekly, achieved clinical remission within the first 3 months of therapy, and also, a substantial percentage of these patients maintains the partial remission with an every other week regimen.
ISSN:0770-3198
1434-9949
DOI:10.1007/s10067-013-2372-6