Baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, and treatment history of patients with a visit between initiation and 12-month followup. Values are n (%) or median (IQR) unless otherwise specified.
| Characteristics All | RTX Initiations, n = 265 | 1 Prior Anti-TNF, n = 113 | ≥ 2 Prior Anti-TNF, n = 152 | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, yrs | 57 (50–65) | 61 (52–69) | 56 (49–63) | 0.003 |
| Female | 212 (80.0) | 91 (80.5) | 121 (79.6) | 0.878 |
| White | 254 (95.9) | 106 (93.8) | 148 (97.4) | 0.213 |
| History of non-RA comorbidities | ||||
| CV disease | 34 (12.8) | 15 (13.3) | 19 (12.5) | 0.855 |
| Hypertension | 94 (35.5) | 39 (34.5) | 55 (36.2) | 0.797 |
| Diabetes | 27 (10.2) | 10 (8.9) | 17 (11.2) | 0.682 |
| Liver disease | 25 (9.4) | 10 (8.9) | 15 (9.9) | 0.834 |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 25 (9.4) | 10 (8.9) | 15 (9.9) | 0.834 |
| Lung disease | 25 (9.4) | 10 (8.9) | 15 (9.9) | 0.834 |
| All cancer | 40 (15.1) | 17 (15.0) | 23 (15.1) | 1.000 |
| Skin cancer | 10 (3.8) | 4 (3.5) | 6 (4.0) | 1.000 |
| Non-skin cancer | 30 (11.3) | 13 (11.5) | 17 (11.2) | 1.000 |
| Hospitalized for infection in last 12 mos | 4 (1.5) | 2 (1.8) | 2 (1.3) | 1.000 |
| RA clinical characteristics | ||||
| RA duration, yrs | 13 (7–22)* | 10 (6–23)† | 14 (8–21) | 0.326 |
| TJC | 7 (2–12) | 5 (1–10) | 8 (3–14) | 0.006 |
| SJC | 6 (2–10) | 5 (1–8) | 6 (2–11.5) | 0.008 |
| Patient pain | 53 (29–75) | 46 (20–72) | 60 (31–76) | 0.020 |
| Patient global | 50 (31–70) | 45 (27–65) | 55 (39–75) | 0.005 |
| Physician global | 37 (21–53) | 30 (20–50) | 40 (23–58) | 0.031 |
| mHAQ disability index | 0.63 (0.25–1.13) | 0.63 (0.25–1.00) | 0.75 (0.38–1.13) | 0.271 |
| CDAI | 22.2 (12.5–32.5) | 17.5 (11.0–28.0) | 24.4 (14.4–35.4) | 0.001 |
| RF-positive, n/N (%) | 130/173 (75.1) | 55/72 (76.4) | 75/101 (74.3) | 0.749 |
| Anti-CCP–positive, n/N (%) | 48/65 (73.8) | 24/35 (68.6) | 24/30 (80.0) | 0.440 |
| Concomitant medications | ||||
| No concomitant medications | 61 (23.0) | 26 (23.0) | 35 (23.0) | 0.696 |
| MTX only | 126 (47.6) | 58 (51.3) | 68 (44.7) | |
| Non-MTX, nonbiologic DMARD | 47 (17.7) | 17 (15.0) | 30 (19.7) | |
| MTX + nonbiologic DMARD | 17 (6.4) | 8 (7.1) | 9 (5.9) | |
| Prednisone | 112 (42.3) | 37 (32.7) | 75 (49.3) | 0.008 |
| Prednisone dose, mg§ | 0.187 | |||
| < 5 | 19 (17.0) | 9 (24.3) | 10 (13.3) | |
| 5–9 | 45 (40.2) | 16 (43.2) | 29 (38.7) | |
| ≥ 10 | 48 (42.9) | 12 (32.4) | 36 (48.0) |
↵* n = 263.
↵† n = 111.
↵§ Percentage based on total number of patients in each group taking prednisone. IQR: interquartile range; RTX: rituximab; anti-TNF: anti-tumor necrosis factor; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; CV: cardiovascular; TJC: tender joint count; SJC: swollen joint count; mHAQ: modified Health Assessment Questionnaire; CDAI: Clinical Disease Activity Index; RF: rheumatoid factor; anti-CCP: anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; MTX: methotrexate; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.