Abstract
In this study, we examined the clinical outcomes of each biological agents for rheumatoid arthritis and searched for the factors contributing to those outcomes. This study included all 114 cases in which biological agents were used for rheumatoid arthritis before September 2013 and studied the retention rate as well as clinical outcomes and each of the parameters at 3 and 6 months after treatment and at the final follow-up exam. We also investigated factors revealing a significant difference between the DAS28-CRP remission and low disease activity compared to moderate disease activity and high disease activity groups at the time of the final follow-up exam. The retention rate was 82.4% at 1 year and 60.9% at 8.9 years; TZC and ETN tended to be high, and ABT and IFX tended to be low. Before the treatment, 61.4% cases showed a high disease activity; however, only 16.7% showed high activity at the final follow-up exam, and 39.5% cases were in remission. According to multivariate analysis using multiple logistic regression analysis, low PSL dosage at baseline and high lymphocyte count 3 months after the initiation of treatment are the associated factors leading to remission or low disease activity in the end. The cut-off PSL dosage at the baseline in those cases was 4 mg/day.
