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Biologicals in rheumatology: Austrian experiences from a rheumatic outpatient clinic

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Abstract

The efficacy of biological agents has been shown in several randomized clinical trials. However, little is known regarding the performance of these drugs in daily rheumatological care. Totally, 173 patients treated with biological agents (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, anakinra) were retrospectively analyzed between November 2001 and December 2005 at an Austrian rheumatic outpatient clinic. In total, 224 courses of treatment with biological agents were followed up. Among the 93 drug discontinuations observed, the most frequent causes were inefficacy (56.5%) and side effects (31.9%). In 74 patients (51%), the first biological agent was withdrawn after a median treatment period of 10.7 (range 0–80) months. A second biological agent was given to 36 patients, a third to 11 and a fourth to 3 patients. Our data underline the necessity of large observational studies to assess the full spectrum of patients treated with biological agents in clinical routine.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Innsbruck Medical University, the Tyrolean Research Funds (to C. Duftner) and the “Verein zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Ausbildung und Tätigkeit von Südtirolern an der Universität Innsbruck” (to C. Dejaco).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria

    C. Duftner, C. Dejaco, H. Larcher, M. Schirmer & M. Herold

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of the Elisabethinen, Voelkermarkterstrasse 15-19, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria

    C. Duftner, C. Dejaco & M. Schirmer

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  1. C. Duftner
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Correspondence to C. Duftner.

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296_2008_621_MOESM1_ESM.ppt

Number of patients treated with a biological agent with respect to the diagnosis and the year of beginning the treatment. Filled bars represent patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (n=109), striped bars represent spondyloarthritis patients (n=60) and the open bar is for patients suffering from other chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (n=4) (PPT 24 kb)

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Duftner, C., Dejaco, C., Larcher, H. et al. Biologicals in rheumatology: Austrian experiences from a rheumatic outpatient clinic. Rheumatol Int 29, 69–73 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-008-0621-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-008-0621-9

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