Influence on Effectiveness of Early Treatment with Anti-TNF Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Vicente Escudero-Vilaplana1, Esther Ramírez-Herraiz2, Nicolás Trovato-López1, Estefanía Alañón-Plaza2, María José Bellini1, Ana Herranz-Alonso1, José María Bellón-Cano3, Alberto Morell-Baladrón2, María Sanjurjo-Sáez1

1Pharmacy Department, Gregorio Marañón University General Hospital, Madrid, Spain. Institute for Health Research, Gregorio Marañón University General Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
2Pharmacy Department, La Princesa University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
3Institute for Health Research, Gregorio Marañón University General Hospital, Madrid, Spain.

Abstract


Purpose. To evaluate the association between starting early treatment with anti-TNF and effectiveness as well as the possibility of applying therapeutic spacing in daily practice in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. Observational, retrospective study conducted in two universitary hospitals in Spain. RA patients who received the first anti-TNF (adalimumab: ADA, etanercept: ETN or infliximab: IFX) during the study period (October 2006-2010) were included. Demographic data, time since diagnosis, disease activity (DAS28-ESR) and anti-TNF dosage were analyzed. Therapeutic objective was defined as DAS28

J Pharm Pharm Sci, 15 (3): 355-360, 2012 Full Text: PDF