Baseline demographic, clinical, and virological characteristics of 33 HBsAg-negative/anti-HBc–positive patients with RA. Values are n (%) unless otherwise specified.
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Age, yrs, median (range) | 60 (30–80) |
| Females | 24 (73) |
| Protective anti-HBs titer, > 10 IU/l | 28 (85) |
| Anti-HBs titer, IU/l, median (range)* | 285 (18 to > 1000) |
| Anti-HBe–positive patients** | 10 (37) |
| ALT level, IU/l, median (range) | 27 (10–113) |
| ALT levels < ULN | 29 (88) |
| Undetectable serum HBV DNA† | 33 (100) |
| Anti-HCV–positive patients | 2 (6) |
| Duration of RA, yrs, median (range) | 8 (1–30) |
| Antirheumatic therapies before RTX, %‡ | |
| MTX | 83 |
| PRED | 80 |
| CSA | 26 |
| LEF | 8 |
| AZA | 6 |
| IFX | 40 |
| ETN | 36 |
| ADA | 15 |
| ABA | 3 |
| Anakinra | 3 |
| Antirheumatic therapy at time of starting RTX, % | |
| MTX | 36 |
| MTX + PRED | 64 |
↵* Among patients with protective anti-HBs titers.
↵** Out of 27 patients.
↵† PCR assay.
↵‡ The sum of treatments is greater than 100%. HBsAg: hepatitis B surface antigen; anti-HBc: antihepatitis B core antigen; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; anti-HBs: HBsAg antibodies; anti-HBe: antihepatitis B envelope antigen; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; ULN: upper limit of normal; HBV: hepatitis B virus; HCV: hepatitis C virus; RTX: rituximab; MTX: methotrexate; PRED: prednisone; CSA: cyclosporine; LEF: leflunomide; AZA: azathioprine; IFX: infliximab; ETN: etanercept; ADA: adalimumab; ABA: abatacept.