Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41239038›Full record

ArticleRheumatology and therapy2026

Real-World Analysis of Initial Clinical Response and Future Outcomes Among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Initiating and Remaining on a First-Line Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitor in the United States.

Christina Charles-Schoeman, Patrick Zueger, Erin McDearmon-Blondell, Siran Fang, Yi Peng, Tanjinatus Oishi, Manish Jain, John Tesser

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology and therapy, 2026. 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
–field-weighted citation impact
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. Article
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.

Christina Charles-SchoemanDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. ccharles@mednet.ucla.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1768-7019
Patrick ZuegerAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Erin McDearmon-BlondellAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Siran FangAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Yi PengAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Tanjinatus OishiAbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Manish JainEndeavor Health Swedish Hospital and Captain James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
John TesserArizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates, P.C., Phoenix, AZ, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis study aimed to evaluate a subsequent treatment response among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who initiated and remained on a first-line tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) after achieving or not achieving an initial response.

methodsThis real-world, retrospective cohort study included patients with RA in moderate/high disease activity (MDA/HDA), defined by Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score > 10, who initiated a first-line TNFi and remained on therapy for ≥ 12 months. Data were analyzed according to the time of initial evaluation: 3 months (N = 1215) or 6 months (N = 1318). PRIMARY OUTCOME: proportion of patients achieving low disease activity (LDA)/remission in CDAI (≤ 10) at the initial evaluation; secondary outcome: proportion of patients achieving minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in CDAI. Patients were categorized as responders or nonresponders according to outcome achievement, then analyzed for subsequent response at 12 months and maintenance of initial response through 12 months.

resultsAfter 3 months, 65.9% of patients were in MDA/HDA. Among these nonresponders, 73.5% remained in MDA/HDA at 12 months and 64.2% failed to improve through 12 months. Of patients in LDA/remission at 3 months, 27.0% lost their response at 12 months. Among the 59.2% of nonresponders at 6 months, 80.1% were in MDA/HDA at 12 months and 74.5% never improved through 12 months. For patients in LDA/remission at 6 months (40.8%), 23.4% subsequently lost their response at 12 months. Similar trends were observed for achievement of MCID in CDAI.

conclusionsIn patients with RA treated with a first-line TNFi, most patients who did not achieve a treatment target at an initial evaluation also failed to achieve the treatment target at 12 months. Therefore, evaluating treatment as early as 3 months after initiation may help indicate future clinical improvements and could serve as a reasonable timepoint to consider changing therapy for patients with an inadequate response.

Indexed as

Biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug(bDMARD)Clinical Disease Activity Index(CDAI)Rheumatoid arthritis(RA)Tumor necrosis factor inhibitor(TNFi)

Identifiers

PMID41239038
PMCPMC12816474

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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.