Should complete B cell depletion be maintained in patients treated long-term with rituximab for rheumatoid arthritis?
Authors' conclusion
Maintaining complete BC depletion does not appear to be a therapeutic target to achieve in RA patients in long-term maintenance therapy with RTX.
Study context
- Population
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in long-term maintenance therapy with rituximab (RTX) admitted for a new infusion between 2019 and 2021in maintenance therapy with RTX
- Participants
- 126 patients
- Exposure
- Persistent complete B cell depletion vs no persistent complete B cell depletion
- Persistent complete B cell (BC) depletionn = 43
- Outcome
- Mean DAS28-CRP at each of the four last infusion visits
- Follow-up
- Each of the four last infusion visits
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Did not significantly differ according to persistence or not of complete BC depletion; unchanged after adjusting for antibody status, number of previous therapies, number of RTX infusions and cumulative RTX dose
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
DAS28, pain/fatigue VAS, CRP, gammaglobulins, frequency of self-reported RA flares
- All not significantly different between the two groups
Original publication
Should complete B cell depletion be maintained in patients treated long-term with rituximab for rheumatoid arthritis? Rheumatology (Oxford). Published 4 October 2023. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →