To the Editor:
We read the article by Saccomanno, et al, “Predictors of effectiveness of anakinra in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis,” with great interest1. They reported that shorter disease duration, fewer active joints, higher ferritin levels, and greater activity of systemic manifestations were independently correlated with achievement of complete clinical response at 1 year (CCR1) in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA). They proposed a model with 4 variables (disease duration ≤ 3.9 yrs, active joint count ≤ 10, ferritin > 444 ng/ml, systemic manifestation score > 3) to predict response to anakinra in sJIA1.
We have analyzed these variables and tested this model in our cohort of patients with sJIA. The patients (0–18 yrs old) treated with anakinra at Hacettepe University Pediatric Rheumatology Department between January 2006 and January 2018 were included. The patients were classified with sJIA according to the International League of Associations for Rheumatology criteria2. Demographic data, …
Address correspondence to Dr. S. Ozen, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara 06100, Turkey. E-mail: sezaozen{at}gmail.com