Addition of another disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug to methotrexate reduces the flare rate within 2 years after infliximab discontinuation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: An open, randomized, controlled trial

Takahiko Kurasawa, Hayato Nagasawa, Mayumi Kishimoto, Koichi Amano, Tsutomu Takeuchi, Hideto Kameda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives. We examined whether the addition of another conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to methotrexate (MTX) upon infliximab (IFX) discontinuation in well-controlled rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients could suppress subsequent disease flare. Methods. RA patients maintaining DAS28-CRP (Disease Activity Score of 28 joints with C-reactive protein) scores < 2.6 for ≥ 6 months with IFX were randomized either to receive addition of bucillamine (BUC) to MTX (BUC + MTX group; n = 24) or not (MTX group; n = 31) upon discontinuing IFX. The primary endpoint was the flare rate within 2 years of IFX discontinuation. Results. Six patients discontinuing MTX during the study were excluded from analyses. Seventeen patients (63.0%) experienced flares in the MTX group, which was significantly reduced in the BUC + MTX group (31.8%; p = 0.045). Further, the flare rates differed significantly between remission and non-remission by a Boolean definition upon IFX discontinuation in the MTX group (40.0% vs. 91.7%, respectively; p = 0.014), but they were comparable in the BUC + MTX group. BUC treatment was interrupted in seven patients due to rash, proteinuria and incompliance. Conclusions. DMARDs combination therapy may be a better treatment strategy than MTX monotherapy for maintaining RA control after successful discontinuation of biological agents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)561-566
Number of pages6
JournalModern rheumatology
Volume24
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Jul
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biological agents
  • Bucillamine
  • DMARD combination
  • Flare
  • Remission

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Rheumatology

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