Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38472527›Full record

Observational studyClinical rheumatology2024

Persistence on subcutaneous tocilizumab as monotherapy or in combination with synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis patients in Greece (EMBRACE study): a multicenter, post-marketing, non-interventional, observational trial.

Panagiotis Athanassiou, Pelagia Katsimbri, Andreas Bounas, Sοusana Gazi, Theodosios Sarikoudis, Victoria Syrigou, Dimitrios Boumpas, EMBRACE Study Group

Open access · hybridAbstract readObservational StudyMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Clinical rheumatology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 38% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Panagiotis AthanassiouGeneral Hospital of Thessaloniki "Agios Pavlos", Thessaloniki, Greece.
Pelagia KatsimbriGeneral Hospital of Athens "KAT", Athens, Greece.
Andreas Bounas"OLYMPION", General Clinic of Patra, Patra, Greece.
Sοusana GaziGeneral Hospital of Athens "KAT", Athens, Greece.
Theodosios SarikoudisPrivate Practice, Filikis Eterias 9, Kavala, Greece.
Victoria SyrigouRoche Hellas S.A, Maroussi, Greece. victoria.syrigou@roche.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-8230-6626
Dimitrios BoumpasGeneral University Hospital of Athens "Attikon", Athens, Greece.
EMBRACE Study Group
University General Hospital Attikon · GRKAT General Hospital of Attica · GRAgios Pavlos General Hospital · GRRoche (Greece) · GRTechnological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, inflammatory disease affecting multiple organs and causing physical disability over time.

objectiveThe primary objective was to evaluate treatment persistence to subcutaneous tocilizumab (TCZ-SC). Additionally, treatment effects on persistence and their associations with clinical and patient-reported outcomes were assessed.

methodWe performed a multicenter, non-interventional, 52-week observational study on 222 patients with moderate or severe RA. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by using disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response, and patients' perceptions were evaluated by using Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, and patient global assessment (PtGA) of disease activity. Safety was assessed throughout the study.

resultsThe mean age of the overall cohort was 62.2 ± 12.3 years, and 83.8% were females. Persistence to TCZ-SC was 89.6% at week 24 and 85.1% at week 52 in the overall cohort with slightly increased persistence in the combination group. At week 52, changes from the baseline were - 2.68 in DAS28, - 0.76 in HAQ, - 43.21 in VAS pain, and - 41.66 in PtGA (p < 0.0001 for all). Moderate and good EULAR response was achieved in 83.2% of patients. Non-serious and serious adverse events occurred in 18.5% and 3.2% of the participants, respectively.

conclusionsThe current study confirms the favorable safety and effectiveness of TCZ-SC as well as its acceptability by RA patients in Greece, with sustained high persistence rates up to 52 weeks. TCZ-SC offers a sustainable treatment response in RA. Key Points • Based upon clinical and patient-reported outcomes, TCZ-SC is a highly effective and safe treatment modality in patients with moderate-to-severe RA. • Persistence to TCZ-SC was high throughout the study, both as monotherapy and in combination with csDMARDs. • TCZ-SC is effective both as monotherapy and when used in combination with other csDMARDs regardless of the line of treatment.

Indexed as

Antibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntirheumatic AgentsArthritis, RheumatoidAgedFemaleGreeceHumansInjections, SubcutaneousMaleMiddle AgedPainTreatment OutcomeAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedAntirheumatic AgentstocilizumabBiological therapiesMedication persistenceRheumatoid arthritisSubcutaneous injectionTocilizumab

Identifiers

PMID38472527
PMCPMC11018651
OpenAlexW4392682609

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.